<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Loving You is a Crime by Le1zel</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28503210">Loving You is a Crime</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le1zel/pseuds/Le1zel'>Le1zel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream Team RPF, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, dnf-Fandom, dreamnotfound-Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BadBoyHalo (Video Blogging RPF) - Freeform, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) - Freeform, DNF, Dream Smp, DreamTeam, GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) - Freeform, Gream - Freeform, Karl Jacobs - Freeform, M/M, Minecraft, Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF) - Freeform, Skeppy (Video Blogging RPF) - Freeform, dreamnotfound</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:14:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28503210</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le1zel/pseuds/Le1zel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone's been going around killing off random people, the murders are much to clean to be done by a psychopath, a special force off highly trained professionals are assigned to take on the job, in hopes off catching the elusive killer they ask their top agent Dream to assist on the case, but what happens when the past comes knocking and are the victims really at random or is there some sort of connection. </p><p>This is a Dreamnotfound fanfic don’t like it don’t read it<br/>*I have no idea how crime investigations really work, most of my knowledge is gleaned off movies, I am not the best writer so there are bound to be mistakes, be free to point them out in the comments<br/>*I’m new to this so any suggestions or tips are welcomed</p><p>Trigger warnings<br/>There is gonna be some violence and death  but nothing gruesome (If I miss any triggers be free to point it out)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Note: Character thoughts are written in italics</p><p>It was a dark but clear night, the party downstairs was in full swing, nobody had noticed that the host was no longer at the party, but up in his bedroom gasping for air. Finally he drew his last breath in agony and fell to the floor. A dark hooded figure moved across the room towards the window. Skillfully jumping down without making a sound and disappearing into the night, as a blood curling scream rang out of the mansion.</p><p> </p><p>The mansion was soon surrounded by police cars, the police were trying to keep everyone calm and hopefully get some clues. Nick took a deep breath ,stepped out of his car and into the crime scene.</p><p> </p><p>"What have you got for me Karl?"</p><p> </p><p>"Other than the fact that the victim was poisoned , nothing"</p><p> </p><p>"That's it, nothing else?"</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry Sap, the murder was just as clean as the other 3."</p><p> </p><p>Nick let out a sigh of defeat, "the chief is not gonna like this"</p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p>Phil rubbed his temples hoping to soothe his headache as he leaned back on his Chair, being the Chief of the US branch was not easy, he had just gotten off a call with the UN ministry of defense head who was yelling at Phil to hurry up and catch this killer. Decades ago the UN decided to form a global organization of elite detectives, assassins and hackers in order to take care of criminals that were above the law or too crafty for their own good. They were only to be used in extreme emergencies or when the case was too important to pass on to normal law enforcement. Over the years they have put a stop to dozens of crime syndicates that were considered a global threat , and yet here they were unable to catch this one assassin.</p><p> </p><p>Phil stood up from his desk and made his way to the meeting room, he waited till everyone settled down.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you all for coming, in case you weren't informed the killer who we will now refer to as the Reaper has claimed another life last night, now we are under even more pressure to catch this guy. We've called on the UK branch to lend us some assistance.</p><p> </p><p>"Wait a minute Sir, why that branch in particular?"</p><p> </p><p>"One, because the Reaper has struck in the UK before he made his way here and two, I happen to be good friends with the chief. They won't be arriving until a couple more days so we might as well start searching."</p><p> </p><p>Karl decided to speak up "but Sir the Reaper leaves nothing behind, not a single fingerprint or speck of dust that we can use to trace him."</p><p> </p><p>"Well we'll just have to try harder, we don't have a choice unless..." Phil trailed off and started staring at Sapnap, everyone in the room did the same as well.</p><p> </p><p>Nick tried his best to ignore their stares, making himself busy by using his phone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's not going to work, and I'm not going to do it, if I keep ignoring them maybe they'll think of something else Nick thought.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Phil cleared his throat "Agent Sapnap..."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It was worth a try...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Nick let out a sigh "Fineee, I'll talk to him but I can't guarantee that he'll do it."</p><p> </p><p>Phil felt a bit relieved, if Sapnap was successful they might just have a shot in catching the Reaper.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karl watched as Nick paced back and forth in front of the Branch's training room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Will you stop freaking out, just go in already"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Give me a minute" Nick replied, "I need to plan out what to say"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sap, you'll be fine, this is your bestfriend we're talking about not some demon from your nightmares" Karl was starting to get annoyed, well who wouldn't be, Nick's been pacing around and giving himself prep talks for the last ten minutes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You don't get it Karl, he can be so stubborn, and he may be the only chance we have to catch the Reaper" Karl could tell that Nick was feeling the pressure, whether they could catch the Reaper or not depended on Nick's convincing skills.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Karl placed a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder. "It'll be fine, if he doesn't agree we can find another way, right now you are the only person he will listen to, I know you will find a way to reach him"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick smiled at his friend, he took a deep breath then let it out, "Okay, I'm ready"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick turned and reached for the door handle, then he froze, "Uhmm... On second thought, maybe I should go and get him some food first so that he'll be in a better mood"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ok that's it!" Karl said as he yanked open the door and pushed Nick inside, he then held the door shut so Nick couldn't get out, not until he finished his task.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick hit the floor hard, still in shock, Karl was usually patient with him, but also somewhat grateful since he knew that he was just stalling for time. Nick dusted himself of and scanned the training room filled with other agents, till his eye fell on a mop of blonde hair at the shooting gallery. Nick walked towards him and watched as his friend analyzed the positions of each target, placed a blindfold on and shot each straight in the center.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick clapped his hands "Not off by even a centimeter, good to see you haven't lost your touch Dream"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay removed his blindfold "Why do you want Sapnap"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" Do I need a reason to see my bestfriend?" Nick faking an offended look.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay ignored him and started examining his gun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Great, he's in a bad mood, I knew I should have brought food</em> Nick let out a sigh, <em>well here goes nothing</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well Dream as much as I would love to annoy you all day , I'm actually here to ask you a favor"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay turned to face his friend and saw Nick looking at him with his best puppy dog eyes, "I don't know if you've heard but, there's this guy going around and killing random people, we're supposed to catch him but he keeps giving us the slip, so Phil was wond-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, and stop it with that face, you look ridiculous" Clay said cutting him off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Well I expected that</em> Nick thought, but it didn't make him feel less frustrated. He had been patient with Clay ever since the incident, he waited patiently for Clay to build himself up again, but now he was tired of waiting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Look Clay" Nick said in a serious tone Clay stared at his friend, they never called each other by their real names at work, so Clay knew that Nick was mad.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's been a year already, when are you gonna stop this and move on?" Clay turned his gaze to the ground, he could feel the tears starting to form but he pushed them back, there was no way that he would cry in public.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick continued, "You haven't taken a single case since it happened, you're letting your talents go to waste, and I don't understand how you can let innocent people die while you sit back and-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Shut it Nick" Clay yelled cutting him off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone in the room turned to stare at them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick huffed in frustration, "let me just say this, if he could see you right now he would yell at you for being an idiot" and with that he left.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>You think I don't know that</em> Clay thought He stooped down to pick up his blue hoodie from his bag nearby, well it technically was his. He ran his fingers on the red box that had the word Supreme on it. He held the hoodie close to his chest as the tears threatened to fall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I'm sorry George, I'm so so sorry</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now normal people would drink their problems away, not Clay. He made a promise to himself to never resort to that, and instead decided to talk about his problems. Unfortunately for him the person that he wanted to talk to the most was no longer in this world, and his other friend was currently mad at him. Clay had shut down completely when it happened, and for the first few months he refused to leave his house. If it wasn't for Nick checking on him daily, he would have starved to death. He knew that he had to move on eventually, but how?</p><p> </p><p>Clay managed to make it back to his home, were he took some leftovers that Nick had given him this morning, from the fridge and placed it in the microwave so he could at least have a hot meal. He lacked the motivation to cook anything lately.</p><p> </p><p>He made his way to his closet and grabbed a box from the top. He brought the box to living room and sat on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>A wave of emotion hit him as he opened it. The box was filled to the brim with photos that either he or Nick took, and random junk that George picked up whenever they went on a trip. Clay went through the contents of the box, smiling and shedding a few tears till he reached the bottom of the box. The last photo was one that he hadn't seen in a while.</p><p> </p><p>He was around 7 years old when it was taken, he was smiling and hugging a 10 year old George, both of their parents standing on either side of them. They're parents were close friends since college, so it was a given that he and George were the best of friends since the day they met.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned back on his couch, the photo still in his hands and let the memory take over.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">FLASHBACK </span>
</p><p> </p><p>They had spent the entire day together at an amusement park and were now at Clay's, while their parents were resting up in the living room, the two boys ran upstairs to play.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly they both heard screams and shouts from downstairs. Curious, the two boys crept down the stairs and hid in the closet that was right across the living room so they could see what was happening, but they lived to regret that decision, they both watched helplessly as their parents were shot by a gang of robbers.</p><p> </p><p>Clay was frozen in his spot as they watched the robbers ransack his house looking for anything of value. George manage to pull him further into the closet and hid them both behind a stack of clothes, holding him tight.</p><p> </p><p>He felt George tense up as one of the robbers stopped in front of the closet they were hiding in, but the robber didn't get a chance to open it.</p><p> </p><p>They heard the robbers making a speedy escape as the sound of sirens got closer. They both stayed where they were until the closet door was opened by a kind looking man. He walked towards where they were hiding and pushed the clothes away. They both looked up to see the man smile kindly at them.</p><p> </p><p>Just then a voice spoke up from behind the man, "We wrapped up the parents but haven't found the kids yet Fruit, you don't think..."</p><p> </p><p>"No, they didn't take the kids Illumina" the kind man responded to his friend.</p><p> </p><p>Illumina walked up to Fruitberries wondering why his partner sounded so sure. "If that's so then where ar- oh..."</p><p> </p><p>Illumina looked down at the two frightened boys.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Did they see everything?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What are we going to do with them" he asked his partner.</p><p> </p><p>Fruitberries didn't answer instead he knelt down so that he was eye level with the boys.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello there,"</p><p> </p><p>The boys tensed up,</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry, we won't hurt you, I'm so sorry that you saw all of that"</p><p> </p><p>He reached into his pocket and pulled out some photos " This were on the living room table, I thought you might want them"</p><p> </p><p>The boys took the photos from him, they were taken just this morning, and their parents made sure to print them out so they could immediately add them to their albums.</p><p> </p><p>The boys could no longer hold back their tears, and soon they were both a bawling mess.</p><p> </p><p>Illumina reached down to  hug the two boys, and Fruitberries patted them both on the back.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry, we'll take care of you"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ding of Clay's microwave brought him back to the present day. He placed everything back into the box, and placed it back in the closet. He grabbed his food from the microwave, and sat back on his couch to eat his dinner.</p><p> </p><p>After their parents' murder, Fruitberries and Illumina took them both to Stellar Academy. Another project of the the UN, to train up kids to become the next generation of the special forces, so that the project would stay alive. There they met Nick, who was two years younger than Clay, and was plucked from an orphanage that burned down. The three of them grew really close and made many other friends, after training for 8 years under Fruitberries and Illumina, they were given code names and assigned to different branches. George left for the UK branch while Clay and Nick worked for the US branch, but they stayed in touch and would often visit each other.</p><p> </p><p>As the years flew by Clay started to develop feelings for George, and after listening to Nick nagging for weeks telling him to stop being a coward, confess to George, and ask George to be his boyfriend, he finally did, on a video call.</p><p> </p><p>"To- Tomorrow..." George stuttered out trying to hid his blushing cheeks with his hands.</p><p> </p><p>"What?" Clay asked confused, but also amused at seeing George's blushing face.</p><p> </p><p>"I want to think it over, but not right now, we're working on a very big case and I need to focus, but I'll give you my answer tomorrow night," George said still looking flustered.</p><p> </p><p>Clay smiled "okay I'll wait until then, good luck with your case"</p><p> </p><p>George nodded and they said their goodbyes, then Clay fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning Clay was all smiles, and this did not go unnoticed by Nick, who wouldn't stop nagging at Clay to tell him why he was in such a good mood. When Clay finally decided to tell him Nick started jumping around and shouting.</p><p> </p><p>"Let's gooooo!!!!!"</p><p> </p><p>Clay wheezed at his friend's reaction</p><p> </p><p>When Nick finally cooled down he placed his arm around Clay giving him a side hug.</p><p> </p><p>"So when's the wedding?" Nick asked with a playful smirk.</p><p> </p><p>" He hasn't even agreed to be my boyfriend yet.." Clay said</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry," Nick gave him a pat on the back. "He will"</p><p> </p><p>But Clay never got his response, they both went out to get lunch, Nick insisted that they celebrate and offered to pay for everything, Clay snapped a picture and sent it to George. When they arrived back at the branch they found everyone huddled around the TV watching the news.</p><p> </p><p>"What's going on?"  Nick asked Karl</p><p> </p><p>"Some of our guys over at the UK branch were chasing after a terrorist who turned out to be a suicide bomber. The bomb wiped out most of them and the rest were seriously injured."</p><p> </p><p>Clay felt his knees grow weak and a pang in his chest</p><p> </p><p>The UK branch?</p><p> </p><p>Didn't George say he was working on some big case...it couldn't be?</p><p> </p><p>Clay looked over at Nick who had the same look of terror in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>They pushed their way to the front just in time for the reporter to announce the casualties, Clay felt his blood grow cold and everything around him go silent, there on the screen was the name George Henry Davidson.</p><p> </p><p>Nick too was in the same state, that is until Karl shook him and asked him if he was ok, Nick looked over at Clay and saw Phil trying to snap him back to reality. Clay shut down that day, Nick made sure to visit him everyday, bringing him food, and just sitting with him for hours as they both cried.</p><p> </p><p>When Clay finally returned to work he was nothing more than a shell of himself. He refused to go out in the field and just sat at a desk pushing papers around, other times he would spend all day in the training room. Though he knew there was nothing he could have done to save him, he couldn't help but feel guilty.</p><p> </p><p>George was a smart guy, he should have easily escaped an explosion. After all they were trained to think fast in emergency situations.</p><p> </p><p>Was it because Clay's confession distracted him. Was he that bothered with it that he couldn't focus.</p><p> </p><p>Clay felt tears fall from his eyes and on to his empty plate.</p><p> </p><p>"George..." Clay choked out through his tears</p><p> </p><p>Was he cursed to have everything he loved taken away from him. It was then  that a memory resurfaced.</p><p> </p><p>It was their first night at the Academy, they had sneaked out to go star gazing on the roof,</p><p> </p><p>"let's make a promise right here and now"</p><p> </p><p>George said holding out his pinky finger.</p><p> </p><p>"Let's train hard Clay, let's become strong enough to protect those around us so that no one has to experience what we went through"</p><p> </p><p>Clay reached out his pinky and curled it around George's.</p><p> </p><p>"I promise"</p><p> </p><p>Clay wiped the tears from his eyes,</p><p> </p><p>"I promised"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nick pulled his hair in frustration, "Really? You got nothing for me?"</p><p> </p><p>Zelk let out a sigh, "look Sapnap, I'm not a miracle worker, I cannot give you what was never there"</p><p> </p><p>Karl placed a hand on Nick's back, hoping it would help calm him down. After Clay had refused to help, the two of them returned to the scene of the last murder and grabbed every little thing they could find and gave it all to forensics. They had to wait all night for the lab to analyze everything, but they returned only to hear the bad news that the labs found nothing.</p><p> </p><p>"All the DNA found on the items you collected were either that of the victim's or of the victim's family" a robotic voice spoke out.</p><p> </p><p>They all turned to a man in a lab coat that had a green scarf around his neck  that also covered his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>"You know Mega, it would be much easier for you to just talk than to type everything on that device of yours" Zelk said.</p><p> </p><p>Mega started typing into his device.</p><p> </p><p>"Shut up Zelk" the robotic voice spoke again.</p><p> </p><p>Well it was an upgrade compared to when Mega first arrived at the agency. Back then he wrote on cue cards, and it would take so long that Phil decided to get him a device that he could just type into.</p><p> </p><p>"And what about the body?" Nick asked Mega.</p><p> </p><p>Mega started to type out his response when Zelk spoke up, "We swabbed every part that could have been exposed to the Reaper, we even checked under his fingernails to see if he managed to scratch his killer in an effort to defend himself, but still nothing"</p><p> </p><p>"What Zelk said," Mega's robotic replied.</p><p> </p><p>Nick massaged his temples, a clear sign that he was frustrated and stressed.</p><p> </p><p>Zelk walked up and placed both hands on Nick's shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>"Sapnap, you've got the best of the best working here in this lab. Give us the tiniest bit of DNA or print and we can find whoever your looking for, but like I said before, if you can't get us what we need, we can't help you."</p><p> </p><p>Nick slumped down into a chair, "at this rate all we'll find is another body,"</p><p> </p><p>Just as Karl was about to comfort him a voice spoke up from behind them.</p><p> </p><p>"Ever considered beating the Reaper to his prey?"</p><p> </p><p>All heads turned to see Clay leaning on the doorway, arms crossed on his chest and a smirk on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Nick was a bit to shock to react, so Karl answered for him, "no we haven't"</p><p> </p><p>Clay let out an exaggerated sigh, "you guys are completely hopeless" he said in an obviously fake disappointed tone.</p><p> </p><p>Nick smirked at his friend " oh really, well for your information Dreamy, we happened to look into each of the victims and found no connection between them. The murders are at random and were probably done by some psychopath with a taste for blood."</p><p> </p><p>"Ok, never call me that again, and do you really think a psychopath would go through all the trouble of sneaking into an event and risk getting caught instead of going for a more easy kill."</p><p> </p><p>Nick fell into deep thought, Clay did have a point.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you have an idea on how we can find the Reaper's next target" Karl asked.</p><p> </p><p>"A quick trip to the computer lab should do the trick," Clay said with a wink and started heading towards the lab.</p><p> </p><p>Nick stood up to follow, while Karl stopped for a minute to say his goodbyes to the forensics and morgue crew, then followed them out. He was surprised to see Nick headed in the opposite direction.</p><p> </p><p>"Sapnap where are you going?"</p><p> </p><p>"I'm grabbing some snacks, you head on to the lab and I'll meet you there"</p><p> </p><p>Karl nodded and ran to catch up with Clay, while Nick ran downstairs to the bakery nearby.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Now that Dream was back in action he would need sustenance to keep on going.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>" I'm sorry Dream, but I already gave Sapnap and Karl everything that we could dig up, there is nothing more that we can give you" Darryl said with a sad look on his face. He hated not being able to help.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Baaaad, I'm hungry," Zak said throwing himself on Darryl's back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I know Skeppy, we can grab some food later," Darryl replied patting Zak on the head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay had a sad smile on his face, seeing the two react with each other reminded him so much of how he and George used to be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just then Nick walked in carrying bags full of goodies.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey Bad...look what I got"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Muffins!" Darryl yelled happily as he ran to grab the bag from Nick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He gave one to Zak before setting the bag down on his desk and reached in for one himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick chuckled at Darryl's behavior as he handed Clay and Karl their share of the snacks, the man was obsessed with muffins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A few weeks after Nick and Clay first  joined the agency, they received word that someone had hacked into the system. After many failed attempt in tracking the hackers down Phil decided to assign the case to the both of them, which they managed to pull off in a few hours. That was were they first meet Darryl and Zak, the two were terrified when they saw the police break down the door to their apartment, Clay managed to convince Phil to hire them since putting them in jail would be a waste of their talents.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm sorry that we couldn't be of more help," Zak said as he reached over to grab another muffin from the bag on Darryl's desk, only for Darryl to slap his hand away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What the fuck Bad!" Zak exclaimed rubbing his hand to ease the sting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Language! And these are mine!" Darryl said as he grabbed the bag and held it close to his chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While the two started bickering in the background Nick turned his attention to Clay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So... Dead end?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" I'm just getting started" Clay replied with a smile. He turned back to the two hackers who were still arguing like an old married couple.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey, can you do something for me"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two stopped fighting and turned to Clay, Darryl spoke up first.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sure, what do you need?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I need you to double check the info on each of the victim's files."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zak raised an eyebrow, "I don't get it"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay walked over and pointed at the screen that had the victim's file up, "like here, it says he went to Harvard, I need you to hack into the school records and see if it's true,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh that's easy, give us a few minutes" Zak said making his way to his desk and stretched out his fingers before he started typing away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey, this is the perfect opportunity to test the program that we've been working on" Darryl said as he pulled it up and started typing commands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick walked over to see what Darryl was up to, "what exactly is this program Bad?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It allows us to hack into any surveillance camera, we can see all the footage it took since the day it was installed, it comes with facial recognition as well, making it easy to spot our target even in footage taken years ago. All we got to do is put the victim's picture through a filter so he looks the age he was supposed to be when he went to Harvard, then let the program run and see if it spots a match."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Impressive, you guys are geniuses" Karl said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It was Skeppy's idea" Darryl said shooting his partner a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You did most of the programing though" Zak replied returning the smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick stifled a laugh, <em>weren't they just at each other's throats over a muffin.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked over at Clay and saw his friend smiling at the two hackers, but he knew that there was sadness behind that smile. He and George used to bicker alot too, only to make up right after.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" Huh... That's weird" Zak said scratching his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" What did you find" Karl asked,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I found nothing, this guy doesn't have any records at Harvard"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Same here," Darryl said, "the program just finished scanning through all the footage but found nothing."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Same goes for the other victim's, I just did a quick check and nothing popped up for them either" Zak added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I suspected that, they all have fake identities," Clay said then turned to Darryl. "Hey Bad think you can push this new program of yours a bit more, and just go back a few more years, maybe when he was just a child."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darryl nodded placing the victim's photo through the filter again this time he pushed it till the photo was now that of a kid around 7 years old.</p>
<p>He then ran the photo through the program and said they would have to wait awhile, since they didn't have a specific area to search through he had to widen the search area to the whole continent.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Now this is this is a sight I never thought I'd see again," a voice spoke up from behind them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They all turned to see Phil standing at the doorway and watched as he walked up to Clay and gave him a pat on the back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Good to see you back in action Dream," Phil said with a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thanks Chief" Clay replied returning the smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I got a match" all heads turned to Darryl's screen as he pulled up a video of a small boy reading a book on the steps of what seemed to be an orphanage, when a black car pulled up, the boy grabbed his bag and headed towards the car. The video stopped there.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I guess he got adopted, and his parents changed his name," Nick said when the video was done.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Think you can use that tiny clip to find out the victim's real identify," Clay asked Darryl.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darryl nodded and after entering a few more commands the victim's real birth certificate popped up on screen, but when Zak tried to search the guy up it came back blank.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This guy's a ghost," Zak said,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He disappears off the face of the earth only to pop up again as a grown man with a different identify,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well this is gonna be harder than I thought" Clay said rubbing his chin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It can't be..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All eyes turned to Phil who was staring wide-eyed at the screen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sir, are you ok?" Darryl asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I didn't recognize him before since his appearance has changed and he has a different name now, I think I know where he disappeared to..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil turned to look at Clay and Nick, "this guy was once a student at Stellar Academy"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While Nick and Clay stared at each other in disbelief, the other three men were absolutely confused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unlike Phil, Clay and Nick, who were trained at the academy, Karl had been hired, like majority of the other agents when Phil saw his impressive resume.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick glanced over at Karl and mouthed<em> I'll explain later</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They turned their attention back to Phil as he began to speak again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He wasn't in my batch, he was a year ahead and we didn't get to know him that well since he was expelled shortly after."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though it wasn't common, when a student at the academy did something that had grave results they were kicked out as punishment. Though they would be given new identities and enough money to live a comfortable life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Here are the other victims' real files... recognize any of them Chief?" Zak said pulling up the files.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I recognize a few of them, they too were expelled,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Looks like we found a connection," Nick said looking ecstatic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Now all we need to do is hack into this Stellar school records and search for all students expelled." Zak said excitedly. He nodded to Darryl and the both of them turned to their computers and started hacking away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Uh...I wouldn't do tha-" Clay started to say, but it was too late.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What the muffin!" Darryl exclaimed when his computer screen was suddenly filled with lines of codes and pop ups, there was nothing he could do to get rid of them. He glanced over at Zak who appeared to have the same problem.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay chuckled, "unfortunately for us, the school has a higher level of security then even that of NASA, Well... guess we'll have to visit the school ourselves," he started to walk towards the door, "don't worry we'll tell them to bring your computers back to normal."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm coming too," Phil said quickly following Clay out the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'll be back soon," Nick said to Karl who gave him a small smile and a nod, then Nick followed Phil out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Karl let out a sigh and slumped into a chair nearby.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You ok muffin?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes Bad, just a bit tired"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So when are you gonna tell Sapnap you like him?" Zak asked with a smirk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Karl felt his face heat up but managed to fake a smile, "I don't know Skeppy, how about you? When are you planning to confess?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To this remark Zak turned red, he slouched down his seat trying to hid his blushing face with his hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Confess? Geppy why didn't you tell me you had a crush!" Darryl said excitedly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zak slumped further down, as Darryl started pestering him to say who his crush was. Zak shot death glares at Karl who was just sitting back and enjoying the show.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Okay we are totally lost," Nick said annoyed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Who would have thought that in the short time since they graduated the school would change their entire infrastructure. Now they had no idea were to go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay spotted two boys sparring nearby and decided to ask for directions. One of them was blonde and was firing a toy gun at his friend, his friend had brown hair and was using knives to deflect the bullets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Your on the wrong side of the school man," the blonde boy answered. "The headmaster's office is that way across the training field."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We can show you the way if you like, we are headed to the field ourselves," the brunette offered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They took up the offer and followed the boys till they reached a wide open field that was filled with people doing various drills.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's odd," the brunette said, "Master Blade isn't here yet."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Who is this Master Bla-" Phil didn't get to finish his sentence when a sword was swung at Clay, who dodged it perfectly and jumped back a bit to see who had just tried to behead him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man had pink hair and was wearing a red cape and a crown to match.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Techno..." Clay said with a smirk,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Clay..." The man replied in a monotone voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey Techno," Nick said waving at the man,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Nick" Techno said with a nod then he turned to see who their companion was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Phil!" He shouted in his monotone voice but there was a hint of excitement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey Techno, how long has it been?" Phil said smiling at his old friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just before Techno could answer, Clay came charging at him with an axe that he got from somewhere. Techno dodged just in time, and the two started exchanging blows, but you could see the smiles they both had on their faces.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There they go again," Nick said with a sigh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Your not going to stop them?" Asked the blonde boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Nah... Let them have their bonding moment, they haven't seen each other in a while after all. They've been rivals since the day they meet," Phil answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"How do you know Master Blade?" the brunette asked Phil.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, we were batch mates, and we were always grouped together in training."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They turned their attention back to the fight. Clay had managed to knock Techno's sword out of his hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Looks like I win" Clay said happily.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Are you sure about that?" Techno smirked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay looked down to see that Techno was holding a knife to his chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sensei, always said to carry a second blade"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay smiled as his rival and lowered his axe in surrender, Techno did the same with his knife and the two shook hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Pogchamp!!!" The blonde yelled running up to Techno, the brunette close behind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Teach me how to do that" the blonde pleaded to Techno.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You need to train a hundred more years before you even attempt to do something like that" Techno replied, patting the blonde's head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The group heard clapping from nearby and saw two men making their way to the group.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That was quite the performance," Fruitberries said smiling at his former pupils.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"As much as we would like to believe that you came here just because you missed us, I can tell that you've come for something important." Illumina said with a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I believe this two can give you the details," Phil said gesturing to Clay and Nick,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'll be catching up with an old friend if you need me." Phil added as he walked over to Techno who was still being pestered by the two boys.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Let's head to my office, then we can have a chat" Fruitberries said leading the way, the other three followed closely behind him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The minute they reached the office, Nick and Clay both explained the situation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This seems serious, we will do whatever we can to help you," Fruitberries said, then nodded to Illumina.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I believe this will come in handy," Illumina handed them an external drive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"All the information you need is on there."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay looked at the drive in surprise, "you had it ready, how did you know what we needed before we told you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two mentors chuckled then Illumina spoke up. "We got an alert this morning saying someone tried to hack into those files, when we traced it and discovered that it was someone from your agency, we figured you would come by soon to pick up whatever it was you were looking for, so we decided to have a copy ready."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thank you so much! Oh and do you mind returning our agency's computers back to normal?" Clay asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Will do" came the response,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boys started heading towards the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Boys..." Fruitberries spoke in a serious tone, making Clay and Nick immediately turn their attention to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"All our information is protected by the highest level of security that isn't available anywhere else in this world, and we have George to thank for that..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay flinched at the mention of George's name, he had already decided to make peace with what had happened but it still hurts, but it was true, George was incredible with computers and had single handedly created the academy's security system. Clay turned his attention back to his mentor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"If your theory is correct, the fact that the Reaper was able to access such heavily guarded information is suspicious." Fruitberries concluded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Realization struck the two agents, Illumina then spoke up, "whether we are dealing with a mole or an incredibly skilled person we can't be sure for now, but either way be careful."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The agents nodded, said their goodbyes and left the office.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back at the agency, Clay was munching on some snacks as he watched the two hackers sort out the new information. Nick was currently explaining to Karl about his past and the academy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I hope Karl takes it well, its not everyday that you find out your crush was trained to be an elite assassin since the age of 5, Clay thought. Well not like Nick knows that Karl likes him, the man's too dense.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay knew that Nick liked Karl too, and found it funny how both of them couldn't tell that their feelings were mutual when everybody else around them could.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe I should help the guy out a bit sometime.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just then Karl and Nick entered the room, Karl seemed to be handling the situation well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ok we got it" Darryl said popping up on the screen a world map. There were alot of blue dots and only a few red.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Blue are the ones that are still alive and the red are the victims" he explained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Something isn't right, the Reaper skipped a lot of them when he was on a murder spree in the UK, why would he do that." Nick pointed out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We can ask him when we catch him," Clay answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Bad, focus on the area of the last victim, search if there are any living nearby." Clay said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darryl followed the instructions and pinpointed several of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The Reaper usually strikes when the target is in public setting when security is low and he can make a quick escape by blending into the crowd, search if any of them are attending events soon."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a few minutes Zak spoke up, "this guy is attending a party at a fancy hotel tomorrow night."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ok we found our guy, but let's send agents to watch over the others just in case."</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>You won't be getting away this time Reaper, I'll have you in handcuffs tomorrow night</em>, Clay thought, <em>I'll keep my promise George.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I think that I should inform you that this is a formal event, do you guys have any suits?" Darryl asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The three agents looked at each other and shook their heads, "Do you think we still have time to buy one?" Clay  asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That won't be necessary," Phil answered with a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>I knew that the wardrobe department would come in handy someday</em>, Phil thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He then motioned for the three agents to follow him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We'll make sure that you guys and a few others can sneak into the party without a problem," Zak said as the others said their thanks and left.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay looked at his reflection in the mirror, he was dressed in a dark green suit that showed off his eye color. It was the night of the event and they had to be ready. Right after they left Zak and Darryl, Phil had taken them to the wardrobe department where they were measured and told to come back the next day to pick their suits up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So... What do you think?" A voice asked from behind him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I like it, thanks Vurb," Clay responded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" Just be thankful that I managed to convince Finn to go for a more subtle look, or you all would be wearing neon colors with tons of sparkles." Vurb said with a with a hint of humor in his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There is nothing wrong with wanting your friends to look their absolute best," Finn called from across the room, he was helping Karl into his dark purple suit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick came out of the changing room in a black and white suit and glanced over at Karl, who kept fidgeting in front of the mirror, Finn telling him over and over again that he looked fine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay elbowed Nick in his ribs, "Keep staring and he'll think that you're a creep," Clay remarked with a smirk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I don't know what your talking about," Nick replied looking away in embarrassment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just as Clay was about to tease his friend again Phil came into the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Looking good boys, I just came to tell you that your ride is waiting for you out front."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thanks Chief," they replied.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No problem, stay safe now,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The agents nodded at their boss and after Finn added the finishing touches on them they headed out to their ride.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darryl and Zak had done as they said and made sure that all three of the agents were on the party list. The other agents would wait outside on standby.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They made sure to keep their eyes on the target, so far the man was just going around talking to the other attendees. As the night dragged on and nothing suspicious had happened Clay was  beginning to think that his theory had been wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick walked up to him, "I just got off the phone with Spifey and Tapl, they were both assigned to watch the other targets but they said nothing's happened so far."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" I guess I got this all wrong," Clay said disappointed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It was a good try though," Nick said in an effort to cheer him up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just then a very frantic Karl walked up to them, "have you guys seen the target?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" I thought you were watching him?" Nick said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" I was, one minute he was there flirting with some random dude then the next minute he's gone," Karl explained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" Wait, the guy's gay?" Nick said in surprise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's not important right now Sapnap," Clay pointed out. "Karl stay down here and sweep the area just in case you missed him, have the agents outside ready to flag anyone suspicious, Nick you're with me, let's check the room the target booked."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The plan was put into action, Clay contacted Darryl through his earpiece to hack open the room door. Once inside they scanned the room to find the target, now victim slumped in a chair. Nick walked over to check his pulse and shook his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He's gone,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay then noticed that the balcony door was open, and as luck would have it on the  side of the building right next to the hotel was a hooded figure pulling itself up to the building's roof.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sapnap!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay's shout caught Nick's attention who quickly spun around just in time to see the figure pull itself up over the building's ledge.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They both hurried to the balcony looking for a way to make it across. Clay spotted a fire escape a bit to the left and without a word jumped towards it and landed perfectly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Well he wasn't called the parkour king at the academy for no reason,</em> Nick thought. He jumped too only to miss the landing and ended up grabbing onto the railing as he dangled in the air. Clay reached down to pull him up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Dream just go, I'll be alright," Nick shouted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay hesitated but listened to his friend, he maneuvered his way around the fire escape quickly and was happy to see that Nick had managed to pull himself over the railing just as he reached the roof.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He saw the figure running in the distance, jumping from roof to roof, <em>well two can play at that game</em>, Clay thought as he started running at top speed, the chase was on.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clay was slowly closing in on the Reaper, thanks to his parkour skills he was able to avoid all the obstacles that slowed the Reaper down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he finally got close enough he jumped and tackled the Reaper to the ground, Clay flipped him over so that the Reaper was facing upward, then straddled him so that he couldn't get away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Reaper struggled to get Clay off him, but Clay had a firm grip on both of the Reaper's wrist. Clay pinned them above the Reaper's head with one hand, and with his other he reached over to pull the Reaper's mask off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt his breath hitch and his strength leave him as his green eyes met the Reaper's angry brown ones that were almost the same shade as the Reaper's hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Geo-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay was cut off as he felt a punch connect to his cheek. Dazed Clay recoiled back only to receive a strong kick to his stomach.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay doubled over in pain and felt the Reaper grab his mask back and placed it on before jumping down from the building. Clay struggled to get up and looked over the edge to find a busy street and the Reaper was gone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick who finally caught up ran over to check on his friend, "that was incredible Dream, you actually held down the Reaper for a few minutes, did you get a good look at him?" Nick asked excitedly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay hesitated for a few seconds then shook his head. "No, sorry."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That fine, at least we know that we're on the right track, all we got to do is try again."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay gave his friend a small smile and they headed back to the hotel. Nick was filling up Karl and the other agents on what had happened, while Clay was lost in his thoughts.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>That was George, he's alive, and he's also the Reaper, but why? Why is he doing this, the George I knew would never kill without reason. Is he an enemy now...does this mean that I have to capture him?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay was brought out of his thoughts with Nick calling him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You okay Dream?" Nick asked his voice laced with concern.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah just a bit tired, it's probably from the rush of adrenaline I just had." Clay responded forcing on a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Okay well you head on home, I'll wrap things up here" Nick said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay nodded at his friend and got into the car. The driver dropped him off at his home then left to pick up Nick and Karl. Clay dragged himself inside and tumbled onto his bed. He placed an arm over his eyes as he felt a few tears forming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He's alive, but what do I do now?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Exhausted from the day that he just had he feel into a deep sleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next morning Clay hastily cleaned himself up and drove to the agency. When he reached the computer lab he found Darryl and Zak slumped over their desk sleeping. Sensing someone in the room Darryl sleepily opened his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" Good morning Dream,"he said with a sleepy smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Good morning Bad, did you guys pull an all-nighter."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah...we decided to keep tabs on the other targets to see if we can find the next one on the Reaper's list."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay smiled, they were working so hard, "Bad why don't you take Skeppy down to the cafe and have yourselves a good breakfast, I'll take care of things here while your away."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darryl happily took up the offer and went over to Zak to wake him up. Zak was still a bit disoriented so Darryl had to hold onto his waist and guide him down to the cafe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once they were gone Clay went straight to work, he had to find George's next target.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I'll confront him first, if he really has turned to the dark side, then I will have no choice but to stop him using any means necessary.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He found that one of the possible targets was hosting a masquerade ball later that day, he checked where the party was being held and found out that it was a two hour drive away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>This has got to be it,</em> Clay said to himself, as he wrote down the address and made sure to erase any trace of what he was up to. He then waited for Darryl and Zak to return before making his was to the wardrobe department.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Your lucky that we had extra suits on hand" Finn said handing him another green suit. It was a bit different than the first one but it still looked good on him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Where are the others?" Vurb asked handing him a white mask to go with his outfit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm going solo on this one," Clay said. It was vital that only he went because George may run if he finds himself cornered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay said his thanks and headed to his car, then drove the two hours to the venue. He had some hacking skills of his own and had managed to get his name on the list.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once in he placed his white mask on his face and grabbed a glass from a passing waiter's tray in order to blend in. The room was nearly packed with people and since everyone was wearing a mask it would be even harder to spot George. He was, however able to spot the host, Clay decided to focus on watching him since George would have to eventually approach him or wait till he was alone to do the deed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After some time an average height man with brown hair approached the host and handed him a drink. The newcomer was wearing a blue suit and had a white mask with a bit of black around the eye holes. Clay watched as the two men interacted with each other and he could clearly see the host taking an interest in the man's charming character.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay scoffed, <em>he always had a way when it came to grabbing someone's attention.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in their academy days when they were sent out on training missions, mostly to get information, Clay and Nick always left the interrogation up to George. He had a way with words that lulled his target into a false sense of security and was always able to coax out every little detail.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay then noticed that George had stopped talking to the host and was now looking straight at him with a smirk, he then saw George excuse himself and walk away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay stifled a laugh when he saw the disappointment in the host eyes as he sadly watched George walk away. <em>Poor guy, I wonder how he would react if he finds out that George only flirted with him so he could kill him.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay placed his glass down on a nearby table and tried to follow George while maintaining a certain distance. George was easily weaving his way through the crowd then he turned and faced Clay with a smile. Clay froze in his tracks trying to figure out what George was up to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George's smile soon turned to a smirk as a barrage of people walked between them, Clay's vision was momentarily blocked by a tall man and by the time the man had passed George had disappeared from his spot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay walked over to the spot were he last saw George, he was now in a quiet corner of the room next to one of the windows with long red drapes. He heard the host calling for the guests' attention, and decided to listen to what the host was going to announce. Suddenly he was yanked behind the curtain and  pressed up against the wall. Clay could feel something cold being held to his throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Make any sudden moves and I will drive this knife into your throat."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"It's nice to see you too George" Clay replied calmly, a little amused that he had to look down in order to meet George's eyes. Clay had long surpassed George in height despite being younger.</p><p> </p><p>"Where's your back up?" George asked.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm here all alone George, it's just you and me" Clay said in a teasingly seductive manner. Clay did not miss to notice the slight tinge of blush that dusted George's face when he said it.</p><p> </p><p>"You're awfully calm for someone who has a knife to their throat," George remarked.</p><p> </p><p>"It's because I know you won't do it Georgie," Clay replied with a smirk, "As a matter of fact you can't."</p><p> </p><p>"Don't test me Clay," George warned in such a serious tone. He was trying so hard to sound scary, which amused Clay.</p><p> </p><p>In a quick set of moves Clay managed to push George's hand that had the knife away, then grab George by his shirt and pinned him so that George was now facing the wall and Clay was holding him from behind. He leaned in and whispered into George's ear.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't you remember George? When it comes to pinning someone to a wall, height is an advantage."</p><p> </p><p>George pushed off the wall and turned quickly so he now was facing Clay, catching the latter by surprise and tried to punch him.</p><p> </p><p>Clay who quickly recovered from the initial shock stopped both punches and held onto George's wrist, and once again pinned them above George's head.</p><p> </p><p>"Looks like I'm still better than you when it comes to hand to hand combat," Clay said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me go Clay," George said angrily struggling to get out of his grip, but he stopped when he saw Clay look at him with so much pain and sadness in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"You were alive all this time and never thought to contact us," Clay said lowering his head to rest on George's shoulder. This action surprised George, he could feel Clay's grip on him weaken but he made no effort to escape as he felt Clay's tears slowly wet his suit.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you even know how much the news of your death affected Nick and me, do you even care?" Clay continued his voice getting shaky.</p><p> </p><p>Clay had now released his hold on George and dropped his hands by his side as he let the tears fall. George felt the brick wall that he had build up to portray a man with no emotion break, he ran his hand through Clay's hair and the other on Clay's back in an attempt to calm him down.</p><p> </p><p>After a few minutes Clay stepped back to take off his mask and wipe his tears, then he turned to look at George who looked back at him with concern. Clay took a deep breath then spoke,</p><p> </p><p>"Why are you doing all this murders?"</p><p> </p><p>He saw a flash of fear in George's eyes but it was quickly replaced by a cold glare.</p><p> </p><p>"It's none of your business," he replied,</p><p> </p><p>"Yes it is George, you're one of my best friends, you're the kindest person I've ever met so I can't understand how someone like you can do this. Don't you remember the promise we made that night, how we would become strong enough to protect everyone" Clay spoke, his voice clearly showing how upset he was.</p><p> </p><p>George remained silent and directed his gaze to the floor. Clay grabbed him by both shoulders forcing George to look at him.</p><p> </p><p>"You do realize that I have to arrest you right? And unless you tell me what's going on I can't defend you." Clay pointed out, he was desperate to know what was going on, but George was not cooperating.</p><p> </p><p>George pushed both of Clay's hands off him, "Stay out of my way Clay," George said starting to walk away,</p><p> </p><p>"Geo-" Clay tried to call out, but was cut off when George grabbed the edge of the curtain and threw it over Clay, preventing him from following. After wrestling with the curtain for a few seconds Clay finally manage to escape, but by then George was long gone.</p><p> </p><p>George watched from afar as Clay scanned the room hoping to find him once again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry Clay but I can't let anything happen to you or Nick, forgive me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>George saw his target head towards the restroom, just according to plan, after some time George followed him. He noticed a man was watching who was going in and out of the restroom. Must be an agent, well it won't make much of a difference for me, George thought as he walked in.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clay didn't mean to cry, he couldn't help it. Seeing George again instantly broke the wall that he built to keep his emotions hidden, but what surprised him the most was how George reacted when he started crying. He expected George to brush him off and escape but instead he stayed and held him, and Clay couldn't help how happy he felt inside when George did that.</p><p> </p><p>Clay pulled his hair in frustration, he knew that he had to stop George, but the thought of him being the reason that George was probably going to spend the rest of his life in prison was hurting him. Was his judgement being clouded by his still remaining feelings for George?</p><p> </p><p>He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone call his name, he looked up to see a man approach him, even though the man was wearing a mask Clay knew that it was Nick. Quickly he placed his mask back on his face in an attempt to hide his now puffy red eyes and cleared his throat.</p><p> </p><p>"What are you doing here?" He asked Nick,</p><p> </p><p>"I could ask you the same thing," Nick replied in a cheerful manner.</p><p> </p><p>"We believe that the host of the party is next on the Reaper's list, we didn't want to disturb you since you looked so drained last night."</p><p> </p><p>"Thanks for the concern but I'm fine, I need to catch this guy before he kills more people," Clay said, hoping he sounded determined enough so Nick wouldn't suspect that something was wrong. Just then someone started talking to Nick on his earpiece.</p><p> </p><p>"That was Karl, he said the host complained about feeling sick and headed to the restroom, Karl is there right now."</p><p> </p><p>They both decided to head there, Clay remembered that George handed the host a drink earlier, <em>Did he put something in it that made the host sick?</em></p><p> </p><p>They found Karl leaning on the wall eyes on the restroom door. "He's been in there for quite awhile now," Karl pointed out when the two agents reached him.</p><p> </p><p>"Did anyone else go in?" Clay asked,</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah a few people," came the reply.</p><p> </p><p>Clay immediately opened the door and went in, Nick and Karl followed confused to why Clay seemed to be in a hurry. They weren't particularly happy at the thought of listening to a guy throw up.</p><p> </p><p>All the stalls where empty except one, Clay stooped down to see the man inside the stall, laying completely still on the floor. Clay kicked the door open much to the surprise of the other two, and bent down to check for a pulse. The other two gasped when they saw the sight.</p><p> </p><p>"Looks like someone snapped his neck," Clay concluded.</p><p> </p><p>"It's my fault, I should have followed him in," Karl said, hanging his head in shame.</p><p> </p><p>"It is not your fault you didn't know that this would happen," Nick said trying to console his partner.</p><p> </p><p>Just then they heard the roar of a motorcycle right outside, spotting a small window on the upper part of the wall nearby, Clay immediately jumped and grabbed the ledge pulling himself up just in time to see George who was on a bike look at him.</p><p> </p><p>The two just stared at each other for a moment before George placed on his helmet and drove out of the alley way.</p><p> </p><p>"Nick have the agents outside flag a black motorcycle that just left the alley way," Clay said letting go and landing perfectly on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>The three of them ran out as Nick gave the orders through his earpiece. Once outside Karl headed to his car while Nick jumped into Clay's.</p><p> </p><p>The other agents had informed Darryl and Zak who were currently tracking George using their new program.</p><p> </p><p>"How did this guy get out of the restroom without Karl noticing?" Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>"My guess is that he managed to crawl out of that tiny window, it isn't that big but if the person is small and skilled enough they can make it through." Clay replied.</p><p> </p><p>The hackers informed Nick that they were close, they soon spotted the motorcycle and Clay speed up in hopes of catching up to George.</p><p> </p><p><em>I need to make sure he does nothing stupid</em>, Clay thought.</p><p> </p><p>Just then they saw the bike turn into another alley way. "that way leads to a brick wall" Zak informed them, "beyond the wall is the town's harbor."</p><p> </p><p>Clay parked his car right in front of the alley, he and Nick got out of the car quickly. Clay watched as George who was still wearing his helmet, used his bike as a jumping pad in an effort to jump over the wall, he was a few inches short though but he was able to get a grip on the wall.</p><p> </p><p>"Freeze" Nick commanded pulling out his gun and aiming it at George.</p><p> </p><p>George didn't listen and started to pull himself up, before Clay could stop him, Nick fired his gun hitting George causing the latter to yell in pain but he manage to pull himself</p><p>over and fell on the other side</p><p> </p><p>Clay and Nick quickly headed back to the car and drove at top speed to the harbor, informing the other agents to head there too, Clay silently prayed that the bullet missed anything vital and George was alright.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George landed on the other side with a crash, he groaned in pain as he laid on the ground. He could hear Clay and Nick on the other side of the wall getting into their car.</p><p> </p><p><em>They'll be here soon</em>, George willed himself to stand up only to collapse again to the ground. The bullet had hit him in his leg, luckily it had passed through his body and had not hit any vital organs, but he was still bleeding out quickly. He limped to the side of one of the warehouses and hid behind a dumpster. He threw his helmet in, so he could breath better and slumped to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>George had a clean handkerchief on him and used it to bind up the wound, he watched as the blood seeped through turning the once white cloth to what other people identified as red. Normally he would still be able to keep going for a bit longer, but the fact that he had not eaten a proper meal in a while nor had a decent amount of sleep was really starting to take a toll on his body.</p><p> </p><p>He could hear cars pull up nearby, and someone shouting orders to search the area. George had a gun on him, if it came to it he would not hesitate to wipe out every single agent, he's training would not betray him. He pulled out his gun and turned off the safety, he had several clips on him if he needed to reload. He was just about to get up and go on a shooting spree, when he heard another car pull up and the sound of two familiar voices talking to the other agents. He didn't need to check to find out who the voices belonged to.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn't kill them, they meant so much to him. He dropped his gun and let out a sigh. The sun was starting to set, he couldn't see it's colors but he could tell by how cold it was starting to get. He was starting to see edges of black at the corner of his eyes, if he fainted now there was no doubt that he would bleed out or get caught. He tried to get up again but failed and collapse to the ground again. Just before everything went dark he heard footsteps coming his way and felt someone kneel down to touch him. He didn't know why but somehow that touched made him feel safe.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Clay kicked the door of his house open, he carried an unconscious George to his bedroom and laid him on the bed. After he had found him unconscious by the dumpster he made sure to check that no one was around before he carried George to his car and placed him in the backseat. After waiting for the search party to come up empty he asked Nick to ride home with Karl instead. Despite making up a pretty decent excuse he knew that Nick was a bit suspicious of his request, he had hurried to his car before Nick could ask anymore questions.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed a medicine kit that he kept in the bathroom and removed George's makeshift bandage. Back at the academy they were all to learn first aid, since their line of work was a dangerous one they needed to know what to do should the need arise, and thanks to the government they were provided with very special medicine that were normally not accessible to the general public.</p><p> </p><p>Clay examined the wound and judged it to not be life threatening, though it could still get infected or George could bleed out. He cleaned up the wound, applied some antibiotic ointment and dressed it. He placed a pillow under the leg to elevate it so that it wouldn't swell to much.</p><p> </p><p>Sitting down on the edge of the bed Clay took a good look at his friend. <em>He's much skinnier than he was before and he looks like he hasn't had a decent sleep in months</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Clay reached over to brush a few strands of hair from George's forehead, his hand trailed down to George's cheek. George leaned into the touch,</p><p> </p><p>"Clay..."</p><p> </p><p>For a minute there Clay thought that he had woken up George, but it turns out that the man was just sleep talking.</p><p> </p><p><em>He's still as cute as ever... wait what am I even thinking</em>, Clay thought removing his hand from George's face, <em>I'm suppose to arrest him not fall in love with him again.</em></p><p> </p><p>Clay let out a sigh,<em> I need sleep I'm probably just a bit tired.</em> He then took an extra pillow and blanket so he could sleep on the couch, he was completely exhausted due to the stressful day he just had and fell into a deep sleep.</p><p> </p><p>Clay didn't want to go to work the next day, he wanted to stay home and make sure George didn't go anywhere with that injury. If it wasn't for Nick's phone call reminding him that today the representatives of the UK branch were arriving, he would have just stayed home.</p><p> </p><p>He cleaned himself off and left George a note before he locked the door and drove to the agency.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George tried not to panic when he found out that he was no longer by the dumpster, he was half expecting to wake up and find himself in a jail cell. He scanned the room looking for any clues to where he was. He spotted a glass of water with a couple of pills, and a note on the bedside table. He lifted himself up trying not to wince at the pain he felt. He reached over to grab the note.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Had to step out for work, I'll be back as soon as I can</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don't forget to take the pills, they're antibiotics and painkillers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There's a bit of food in the fridge, grab whatever you like. I left you some money with your gun inside the drawer should you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>need anything.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>-Clay :)</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>I guess that answers where I am</em>, George glanced down at his leg and saw that it had been properly bandaged. He then reached Over and took the pills, it was a struggle at first but he finally managed to get up and walk out of the room and into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to find it practically empty,</p><p> </p><p><em>Is he that busy with work that he forgot to get groceries</em>, George thought and sighed. He grabbed the last two slices of bread and ate them.</p><p> </p><p>After his little breakfast he decided to take a look around Clay's home, he spotted a box inside the closet and used a chair to reach it. He settled down on the couch and opened the box to find all the old photos and trinkets that they had collected.</p><p> </p><p><em>I can't believe he kept all of these</em>, George gently lifted up each memory, smiling as he recalled all the good memories he had with them.</p><p> </p><p><em>I wish we could all hang out again</em>, George thought as he returned the box back to the closet, <em>but right now I have something that I need to do.</em></p><p> </p><p>George returned to the bedroom and opened the drawer he grabbed his gun and the money then left the house. He got into a cab and headed to his safe house.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Clay couldn't seem to relax while waiting for the representatives from the UK branch to arrive, he just wanted to go home and check on George. Nick could tell that he was distracted but whenever he would question Clay about it, Clay would dodge the question by changing the topic. Phil in the meantime was pacing around excitedly.</p><p> </p><p>"There they are," Phil said walking towards the newcomers, "Wilbur!" Phil yelled giving the man a hug.</p><p> </p><p>"It's so good to see you Phil, sorry we're a bit late we had to pick up our new recruits at the academy." Wilbur motioned to two boys one with blonde hair and the other with brown, the boys were looking around excitedly.</p><p> </p><p>"Wait those two seem familiar.." Phil pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>The blonde immediately ran up to Phil, "Your master Blade's friend right? Do you still remember us?" The blonde asked.</p><p> </p><p>Then it clicked, these two boys were the ones that had showed them the way back when they were lost at the academy. "I'm Tommy and this is Tubbo, as of today we are officially part of the UK branch." The blonde said excitedly.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur patted them both on the head, "sorry they're a bit hyper, but Techno did say that they were the best they could offer."</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur then turned and motioned to the two men and a woman who were standing behind him, "This is my team, Fundy, Eret, and Niki." Phil shook each one of their hands then turned to Clay and Nick.</p><p> </p><p>"Wil, you remember these two right?" Phil asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Of course," Wilbur said walking up to greet the two, "It's good to see you," he said.</p><p> </p><p>"You too Wilbur," Nick responded.</p><p> </p><p>Tommy and Tubbo ran up to Clay, "Hey your that guy who fought with Master Blade," they exclaimed.</p><p> </p><p>Clay smiled,"Yup, you guys can call me Dream and this here's Sapnap," Clay said pointing to Nick.</p><p> </p><p>"It's nice to meet you Big D," Tommy said. Clay heard Nick stifling a laugh, he wondered if the boy was aware of the innuendo he just made.</p><p> </p><p>"Well let's get started shall we, if you would follow me to our computer lab we can share all the information we got so far."</p><p> </p><p>Phil lead them down the hallway, but just as they were about to enter Wilbur asked if he could talk with Nick and Clay in private. He asked Niki to watch over the two rookies in the meantime.</p><p> </p><p>"Is something wrong Wil?" Clay asked wondering why Wilbur had a pained expression on his face.</p><p> </p><p>"I just wanted to apologize for what happened to George," he started.</p><p> </p><p>Clay saw Nick tense up a bit, well Clay would react the same way too if he didn't know that George was in fact alive.</p><p> </p><p>"I was the one leading the operation," Wilbur continued, "I was so focused on getting the man that I failed to notice that I was leading my team into a trap, and because of that you lost your precious friend, so I just wanted to apologize and hope that one day you can find it in your hearts to forgive me," tears started to form in Wilbur's eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Clay was struggling to fight the urge to tell him that except for the fact that George was recently just shot in the leg he was actually fine. Clay could relate to the pain that Wilbur was feeling, after all he felt the same way up until a few days ago.</p><p> </p><p>"Wil, what happened wasn't your fault so please don't blame yourself, you have nothing to apologize for, right Sapnap?" Clay said comforting Wilbur by rubbing his back.</p><p> </p><p>"Dream's right Wilbur, don't beat yourself up about this," Nick replied.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur bowed his head and muttered out a thank you, he had just finished drying his tears when the door to the computer lab opened and everyone walked out.</p><p> </p><p>"What's going on?" Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>"We got a new lead... "Phil replied.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So what did you guys find? Wilbur asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Fundy and Eret had an idea that the Reaper probably had some hide out where he keeps all his supplies." Niki answered, "So they teamed up with Skeppy and Bad to try looking for possible locations, and they finally got a video of the reaper on his bike leaving a certain area, possibly heading to that Masquerade ball last night. They weren't able to find an exact place but they have a few locations in the given area that they suspect could be it."</p><p> </p><p>Just then a file got sent out to all of their phone, they were all the locations the hackers could think of. Phil quickly organized several teams to spread out and check each location. Clay, Wilbur and Niki decided to team up, while Nick went with Karl. Phil volunteered to watch Tommy and Tubbo, who were demanding that they be allowed to go too. Phil refused saying that they were much to green for a important mission like this, leaving Tommy to start throwing a tantrum and Tubbo trying to get his friend to calm down.</p><p> </p><p>Clay looked in his rear view mirror to estimate how many cars of agents were following them, even George wouldn't be able to handle this many people without killing anyone, especially now that he was injured. He silently hoped that George was just sitting in his home waiting for him.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>George was never one to believe in banks, he preferred to store his money somewhere safe and nearby. Which was a good thing, he doubted any bank would let him withdraw money, since he was supposed to be dead.</p><p> </p><p>George did manage to escape the bombing incident alive, but not without injury. He luckily hand several safe houses back in Britain where he stored his various equipment and funds.</p><p> </p><p>He had spent a couple weeks in one of them healing his injuries, and when he made his way to the US his first order of business was to find himself a safe house. He had managed to rent an old warehouse for a very cheap price.</p><p> </p><p>He made sure to tell the cab driver to drop him off a bit farther in order to avoid being tracked, and headed in. He had lost one of his bikes already yesterday, luckily he had spares.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed a bag and started to fill it up with stuff that he would need when he heard the screeching of tires from outside of his safe house. Grabbing his gun he turned off the safety and made sure it was loaded, he peaked out the window and spotted several agents exiting the cars.</p><p> </p><p>He saw Clay among them, <em>Okay so among them only Clay would recognize me so I don't need to worry about wearing a mask, maybe if I signal him he can distract the others long enough so I can get away,</em> George thought. Just as he was about to step into the window to signal Clay he saw Clay's car door open and two people jump out.</p><p> </p><p>A girl who was vaguely familiar, but George gasped and quickly ducked when he saw the man. <em>What was Wilbur doing here?</em> He couldn't risk getting recognized, so he swung his bag over his shoulders and headed to the place were he kept his extra bikes. <em>On to plan B I guess.</em></p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>"Should we scan the area first, see if there are any traps?" Niki asked Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>"I say," Wilbur started as he headed to the warehouse door, "we should just open the front door."</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur threw open the door, only to be nearly slammed in the face with a motorbike, luckily he was able to duck down in time. The driver of the bike was wearing a black biker suit complete with helmet to conceal</p><p>their identity.</p><p> </p><p>"Get Him!" Wilbur shouted as the bike speeded away, he quickly hopped into Clay's car and Clay immediately gave chase. The hackers were able to track George's course, and sent all the agents the information.</p><p> </p><p>George was having a hard time out maneuvering all the agents after him. He was thankful that they had a good driving teacher at the academy, using the gun he had he shot out some of his pursuer's tires. George drove up sidewalks and passed any route he could take, in hopes of losing them.</p><p> </p><p>He veered off and drove on the freeway that went above the busy city, he could see that they were still chasing him but they were too far away, so he decided to speed through and leave them in the dust, that was until he found his way blocked by cars. All the agents had their guns drawn ready to shoot if necessary, George thought about ramming through or shooting them, until he saw that Nick was among them.</p><p> </p><p>He was about to turn around when he realized that he was now surrounded,  the agents that were behind him had caught up and were all getting out of their cars and surrounding him in a semi-circle formation. George got off his bike and slowly backed up to one of the freeway's ledges.</p><p> </p><p>"There's no where to run Reaper, surrender now!" Wilbur shouted, as he got out of Clay's car and pointed his gun to George, Clay and Nikki not far behind him. Much to all the agents shock and to Clay's horror George calmly jumped over the freeway's ledge and down to the road below them.</p><p> </p><p>Clay was the first one to reach the ledge, followed by Nick and Wilbur. Nick was the one who spotted George clinging to the side of a truck that was driving away, <em>He must have notice the truck passing under the freeway and timed his jump perfectly so he could land on it</em>, Clay quickly deduced and let out a sigh of relief.</p><p> </p><p>Nick turned around telling Darryl to track the truck down, while Wilbur was giving off orders to the other agents to follow the truck. Clay was the only one that noticed George jump off the truck and land on a car, he kept hopping from one car roof to another till he reached a man on a bike. He pulled the man off the bike and drove away, leaving the owner yelling in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>"Dream let's go!" Wilbur yelled as he and Niki quickly got into the car, Clay immediately spun around and jumped into the driver's seat hoping that no one had realized that he had just spaced out, unfortunately Nick did notice but decided that now was not the time to confront Clay about it. He got into his car with Karl and the they drove off in pursuit of the truck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of course when they finally stopped the truck, they found nothing. Wilbur had contacted the hackers to see if the cameras got anything, but George had made sure to jump off where he knew there was a blind spot in the surveillance system.</p><p> </p><p>Nick suggested spreading out and looking for any clues but Clay immediately shot down the idea. Saying that they wouldn't find anything of use on this busy highway. He tried to calm himself down and not to sound like he was in a rush to get home, since he had a feeling that George was there waiting for him.</p><p> </p><p>Nick looked at him like he was crazy, the Clay he knew would have jumped at any opportunity to find something that could lead them to their target. Lately he couldn't help but feel like Clay was not giving this mission his full attention, and why was he always in a hurry to go home?</p><p> </p><p>Nick was just about to bring it up when Wilbur agreed with Clay, saying that any clues would have already been swept away by the passing cars. Nick did not miss the look of relief on Clay's face when Wilbur said that they should all head home for today and that he and Nikki would ride home with the other agents. Nick watched as Clay hurried to his the car, something was up with Clay, and he was determined to find out what.</p><p> </p><p>On the drive home Clay remembered that he had no food left at home so he made sure to stop and buy just a bit of groceries, including some medicine that would last them for a day or two. When he arrived back home he saw George sleeping on his couch, George had a pillow under his leg that had bullet wound, it looked like George had just finished redressing it.</p><p> </p><p>He dropped the groceries on the kitchen table and walked over to the couch to see if George had got any new injuries. He gently took George's arm and started searching for any bruises, but the action surprised George who jolted up from his nap, grabbed a knife from his side and held it to Clay's throat. When he realized who it was he dropped the knife and ran his hand through his hair.</p><p> </p><p>" You Idiot! You scared the life out of me!" George yelled.</p><p> </p><p>Clay let out a wheeze, and merely smiled at George, "Consider it pay back for that stunt you pulled on the freeway, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you jump." George slumped back down the couch, rubbing his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"What happened to the bike you stole?" Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Borrowed," George corrected. "I left it on the side of a street. Someone will find it and return it."</p><p> </p><p>Clay stood up and headed back to the kitchen and started to put the food away. George limped to the kitchen and was about to help him when Clay told him to sit down and not put</p><p>pressure on his leg.</p><p> </p><p>"It doesn't really hurt anymore, at least let me do something since I'm going to be staying here for now." George argued.</p><p> </p><p>Clay spun around and looked at George excitedly, "Wait really?" then immediately wanted to face palm himself, <em>Did I seriously get excited over something like this.</em></p><p> </p><p>George didn't seem to notice, "Well yeah, since my safe house just got raided I have no where else to go, and besides.."</p><p> </p><p>George looked up with a sly smile, "I don't think you would let me, one of your best friends, the kindest person that you've ever met, sleep outside in the cold now would you."</p><p> </p><p>Clay was starting to regret saying all that stuff to him during the masquerade,</p><p> </p><p>"You're such an idiot," Clay said turning back to place the remaining food away.</p><p> </p><p>"But if you really want to help out around the house, how about you take over the cooking? It's been a while since I had a decent meal." He added.</p><p> </p><p>George smiled brightly back at him making Clay's heart skip a beat. "Sure," George answered.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>"Nooooooo!" George screamed as the death message popped up on the screen, sending Clay off in a fit of laughs and wheezes.</p><p> </p><p>After the two had eaten the delicious dinner that George made, they both took turns taking a shower then decided to play a game of Minecraft for old times sake. George had unfortunately died to a creeper, right after managing to survive falling into a ravine.</p><p> </p><p>"It's not funny," George said pouting at Clay who was actually crying tears of joy now accompanied by his wheezes. George tried to punch him on his shoulder but Clay quickly blocked it.</p><p> </p><p>"Arghh I nearly forgot how annoying you are." George said leaning into Clay and resting his head on Clay shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Clay who finally calmed down from his laughing fit felt his body go weak from George's touch. He instinctively placed an arm around George, pulling him closer then rested his head on top of George's.</p><p> </p><p>"I missed this," George said as he nuzzled he's face into Clay's neck. They both used to have nightmares after their parents died, so they always cuddled together back at the academy to give each other a sense of comfort.</p><p> </p><p>Clay loved this feeling, how warm and safe he felt with George. He had been trying so hard to get rid of his feelings when he first heard that George had died, but somehow no matter what</p><p>his feelings only grew, even when he found out that George was the Reaper his feelings didn't change, infact they have only intensified now that George was here in his arms.</p><p> </p><p>He needed George, he wanted to protect him but doing so will mean going against the agency. They would have to run and hide in order to avoid being captured, but could Clay feel at peace when he knew that George would still kill people, and what about Nick they couldn't just leave him alone.</p><p> </p><p>He felt George's breaths even out and knew that he had fallen asleep. He carried George and placed him gently on his bed, just as he was about to head to the couch for the night he felt a gentle tug.</p><p> </p><p>Clay looked down to see a very sleepy looking George grabbing onto the tip of his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>"Stay here," George said. Clay hesitated, George was probably only half awake and didn't know what he was doing.</p><p> </p><p>"Please... I need you Clay," George begged.</p><p> </p><p>Clay couldn't say no to that, so he laid down and pulled the blanket over the both of them while George wrapped his arms around Clay's waist.</p><p> </p><p>George then fell back to sleep, while Clay stayed awake, his mind occupied with thoughts.</p><p> </p><p><em>There must be a reason, and if it was a good one the agency might just let George off the hook. George doesn't trust me enough yet to tell me what's going on but I hope he will soon. No matter what happens I will stay by his side.</em> Clay thought as he ran his hand through George's hair.</p><p> </p><p>He could see George slightly twitching and his eyes moving behind his eye lids, he's having a nightmare. He must have been through so much since the bombing incident.</p><p> </p><p>Clay felt George tighten his grip. "Mummy... Daddy, please don't go, don't leave me alone, "George muttered out.</p><p> </p><p>Clay held George as tight as he could, "Its okay George your safe and your not alone," Clay whispered as he felt George relax in his arms.</p><p> </p><p><em>Hey George,</em> Clay said in his head, <em>how would you feel, if I told you I still love you?</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George woke up from the best sleep he's ever had in a while, he wondered why he felt so safe and warm. It took him a minute to figure out that it was probably because he and Clay were cuddling.</p><p> </p><p>George shot out of bed in surprise, immediately regretting it as he was hit with a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement and the pain from his injury shooting up his leg. He had made so much noise it was a wonder that he didn't wake Clay up.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to think back to what happened last night, and what events had lead them to not only sleeping in the same bed, but actually holding each other. His face heated up when he remembered what he said and did to Clay, the year of practically sleepless nights and being touched-starved have finally taken a toll on him. He wanted to bang his head on the wall, but that might just wake Clay up.</p><p> </p><p>He saw Clay shifting around in his sleep, his arm moving around the area that George had slept on, looking for the warmth that had suddenly disappeared. George quietly walked forward and pulled the blanket that had fallen off when he jumped out earlier, over Clay and tucked him in. He placed his hand gently on Clay's cheek and watched as Clay started to relax and fall back into deep sleep.</p><p> </p><p>With a smile he got back up and went to his backpack that he had placed in the corner of the bedroom and brought it out to the living room. He couldn't grab much due to the surprise raid, but at least he got the essentials. He took out his laptop that seemed to sustain no damage from the chase yesterday, and plugged it in then he started to run a program.</p><p> </p><p><em>They're moving fast, I need to hurry and find more information before it's too late</em>, George thought as he let the program run while he got started on breakfast.</p><p> </p><p>He opened the fridge and sighed at the sight, since Clay was in such a hurry yesterday he wasn't able to buy much, they most likely would have to go shopping soon. He did the best he could with the ingredients available and just when he finished setting up the table, out walked a still very sleepy Clay.</p><p> </p><p>"Good morning," George said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>George let out a small yelp when Clay suddenly wrapped him in a hug, "I thought you left again," Clay said, his voice still sounding husky from just waking up.</p><p> </p><p>George returned the hug, "Sorry about that, I wanted to get started with breakfast."</p><p> </p><p>They both sat down and ate in a comfortable silence. After eating Clay offered to wash the plates while George returned to his laptop. George was starting to get a bit frustrated as his search continued to pop up empty. <em>I need to find him,</em> George said in his head, <em>there has to be some trace of him left behind somewhere.</em></p><p> </p><p>"What are you doing?" Clay suddenly spoke up from behind him, making George jump.</p><p> </p><p>"Clay you scared me!" George yelled.</p><p> </p><p>Clay look amused for a minute before he saw what was on George's screen.</p><p> </p><p>"Who are you looking for?" Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>George turned to the side, he didn't want to see the disappointed look on Clay's face.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you really going to continue killing people?" Clay asked his voice laced with sadness.</p><p> </p><p>When George didn't answer Clay moved and sat on the couch with him.</p><p> </p><p>"George look at me," Clay said.</p><p> </p><p>The gentleness of his voice stirred something in George, but he still refused to meet Clay's eyes. Clay let out a sigh then reached for George's chin pulling it upwards forcing George to look at him. Clay brought his other hand up and cupped George's cheeks. George leaned into Clay's touch, his heart pounding in his chest, but his brain reminding him that he had a task to do.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry Clay but this is something I have to do," George whispered. He gently removed Clay's hands from his face and stood up from the couch, he was about to take his laptop and move somewhere else when Clay's arms wrapped around his waist.</p><p> </p><p>"I can't just stand here and let you do this, I know you witnessed many things when the incident happened but that doesn't give you an excuse to turn to the dark side." Clay choked out, he was trying to not get emotional.</p><p> </p><p>"That's not why I'm doing this Clay" George answered removing Clay's arms from his waist.</p><p> </p><p>"Then why, why won't you tell me what's going on? I care about you so much and I know Nick feels the same way, so please just tell me." Clay asked tears forming in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>George looked down, "why.." he whispered so softly that Clay almost didn't hear it.</p><p> </p><p>"Why do you care so much about me, I practically abandoned you and Nick for an entire year. Why do you trust me so much, anyone else in your agency would have arrested me, no questions asked... Why Cla-"</p><p> </p><p>George was cut off when Clay's lips connected with his. George just stood there shock for a few seconds before he returned the kiss. It was slow and sweet, George felt his knees go weak and was thankful that Clay was holding him so he wouldn't sink to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>After a while George broke the kiss to breath. Clay placed his forehead on George's, he smiled down at the man that he's loved for so long.</p><p> </p><p>"Does that answer your question?" Clay quietly asked, he brought George's hands to his lips and planted a kiss on them.</p><p> </p><p>"I asked you a question a year ago, the night before the incident do you remember what it was?" Clay asked, George blushed and nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Clay cupped George's cheek and the two stared at each other for a moment before Clay continued.</p><p> </p><p>"Can I get my answer now?" Clay said with a smile. George gently pulled Clay to him and kissed him.</p><p> </p><p>"Does that answer your question?" George said when they broke away, returning Clay's smile.</p><p> </p><p>Clay felt his heart burst with happiness and brought his lips back to George's. George smiled into the kiss and ran his fingers through Clay's dirty blonde hair. Clay placed his hands on George's hips and slowly pushed George backward. The back of George's knees hit the couch causing him to fall, taking Clay down with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>!!! WARNING!!!<br/>Very Cringey spice up ahead<br/>Feel free to skip</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George let out a soft giggled as they both landed on the coach.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay's heart was pounding so hard he was worried that George could hear it. He had dreamed of a day that he could finally hold George in this way and now that he had the chance he was not about to let it slip away. Clay's arms caged George on the couch, the two stared at each other with desire and love in their eyes. Clay pecked George on the forehead and nose before he lowered himself onto his forearms and connected their lips in a slow kiss, George reached up and wrapped his arms around Clay's neck pulling him deeper into the kiss. George broke away to breath while Clay moved his lips to George's neck, sucking and nibbling on a sensitive spot that he found as George let out a soft whimper. Clay moved back to kiss George once again on the lips as he ran his fingers down George's side, he then slipped his hand under George's shirt causing the latter to gasp in surprise. Clay took advantage of it and slipped his tongue into their kiss. When they broke away Clay placed his forehead on George's, George felt Clay slowly lift up his shirt and kiss his way down his chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Clay..." George managed to breath out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So caught up in their emotions they both failed to hear the door open and someone enter the living room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What the fuck!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>=•=•=•=•=•=• =•=•=•=•=•=•=</p>
<p>
  <em>Spice is over </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It is now safe to continue :)</em>
</p>
<p>=•=•=•=•=•=• =•=•=•=•=•=•=</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick was worried about Clay, he could tell that Clay had seemed distracted ever since he encountered the Reaper for the first time. <em>He might be depressed that he couldn't catch the guy the first time, or he's probably thinking about George, maybe even both.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick decided it was time to talk with Clay in private, where Clay couldn't escape his questions anymore. He packed up a few stuff and stopped by the store to buy food and some drinks. He had prepared to sleep over, just in case Clay started bawling over George again. He wanted to be there for Clay even though he would probably end up joining him in crying. Nick parked right in front of Clay's house and let out a sigh as he stared up at the sky.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Things aren't the same without you George</em>, Nick thought a couple of tears starting to form but he pushed them back. He needed to be strong for Clay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>We miss you so much Georgie...</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He took a deep breath, grabbed his stuff and headed in. The door wasn't locked and he knew Clay wouldn't mind if he just went in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Clay, where are you?" Nick asked as he shut the door. He lifted all the bags with a huff. <em>I bought way too much</em>, Nick said to himself as he let out a sigh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Clay?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he didn't hear any response from his friend he started to get a little worried he headed quickly to the living room, where he found Clay and another man making out on the couch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What the fuck!" Nick yelled in surprise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two quickly scrambled off each other and sat up. Nick saw that Clay looked a bit annoyed that they had been disturbed but when Nick turned to see who his friend's kissing partner was he felt his strength leave him as he dropped everything he was carrying on the floor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ge... George?" Nick said in a shaky voice as tears started to leak from his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George's face felt hot, he was sure that it was red with blush. He didn't think that things would escalate so quickly, and worst of all Nick had walk in on them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This is so embarrassing," George said as he covered his face with his hands, while Clay sent a loving smile his way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They both turned their attention back to Nick when they heard him sniffle. The both were surprised when Nick actually fell to his knees and started crying.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick was always the strong one of the group, rarely showed his emotions and when he did it was never to this extent. He had witness many horrors when his orphanage burned down, including seeing the girl he had a crush on burn to death right in front of him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had made him strong and stoic, which is why Clay and George almost always forget that he is the youngest of the group.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George got up from the couch and lifted Nick's tear stained face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're real, your alive" Nick manage to get out through sobs. George smiled at him and hugged him, Clay walked over and joined in the hug. The both of them rubbing his back and saying words of comfort until he finally calmed down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay went to get him a glass of water, while George brought him to the couch and explained the situation to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Wait... I shot you!" Nick exclaimed in horror.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George chuckled at his friend's reaction, "and I will never be more thankful that you have terrible aim," he said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick scoffed and pouted, "For your information my shooting skills have actually improved, and that time I wasn't aiming to kill."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sure, whatever you say.." George said between laughs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two started bickering making Clay wheeze and call them childish. This didn't sit well with the other two, who in retaliation cornered Clay and tickled him till he cried.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The rest of the day went by in a blur as the three of them recounted several memories, updated each other on what had happened the past year, played a bit of Minecraft, and ate the snacks that Nick had brought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George suggested building a pillow fort in the living room so they could huddle together for a movie, just like when they were kids.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They moved the living room table to the side and George moved his laptop to the dinning room. Clay had brought out an extra mattress, while Nick brought out the pillows and blankets. The both of them silently agreeing to let George relax his injured leg and offered to do all the work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When this was done George headed to the kitchen to make some popcorn and other snacks to munch on, while Nick and Clay were trying to make the pillow fort a bit more comfortable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey Clay" Nick spoke up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hmm", Clay answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Did George tell you the reason why he's doing all these murders?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay turned his gaze to the ground, "No" he answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick nodded then laid down on the mattress trying to find a comfortable position.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's it? Your not going to ask anything else," Clay said to Nick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nick merely looked at Clay and shrugged. "I mean this is George we're talking about, I'm sure that he has a good explanation and will share it to us when he's ready."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You trust him that much?" Clay asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes, don't you?" Nick questioned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Clay smiled at his friend, "Of course I do" he stated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nothing more was said as George arrived with their snacks and drinks for the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George woke up the next morning finding himself squished between Nick and Clay, both holding onto him for dear life. He gently untangled himself form their sleeping bodies, and made his way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge he found it once again nearly empty.</p><p> </p><p>There isn't enough to make breakfast for the three of us, George glanced at the clock, the store might be open around this time best buy enough to last us a month.</p><p> </p><p>George grabbed some money and pulled the hood of his hoodie up on his head. He silently closed the door behind him hoping to be back in time to make breakfast before Clay and Nick wake up.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile in a nearby hotel room Wilbur was tossing around in his sleep, the nightmare was always the same. The events of that day still fresh in his head.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur opens his eyes and stares at his gun, "Sir the target is currently in his room." Fundy's voice spoke out through his earpiece.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you Fundy, Eret give me the layout of the building."</p><p> </p><p>The file was immediately sent to his phone, and he scanned it for a few seconds before coming up with a plan.</p><p> </p><p>A few weeks ago they discovered that there was a secret organization of people going after the agency.</p><p>The group had already attack a few agents while they were off duty, none of the agents have died but there were a few close calls.</p><p> </p><p>One of their informants had managed to discover the identity of one of the members and their address, which is what lead to this</p><p>operation, they were to do this as subtly as possible, they didn't want to their target to suspect something was up and escape.</p><p> </p><p>"Sir we have finished evacuating the building so you don't have to worry about citizens getting in the crossfire." Niki's voice rang out breaking Wilbur away from his thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you Niki," he replied with a smile. He clenched his fist to hide the fact that his hands were shaking, and stepped forward to address his team.</p><p>There were only ten of them on the field not including Niki, since a larger group would attract attention.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright guys we're going to cut off all of this guy's escapes routes. We will split into two teams, one will guard outside the door of the target's room while the other takes advantage of</p><p>the balcony. Team two will rappel down from the roof, and when I give the signal we'll all burst in on him. Niki you stay here and keep an eye on things okay."</p><p>Niki nodded at him with a smile, then he and his team set the plan into action.</p><p> </p><p>"Wil...are you ok?" A voice spoke up from behind him. Wilbur turned his head to look at George, whose face was laced with concern.</p><p>They were both on the second team who would enter from the balcony, they were waiting for everyone to gear up and be in position.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah," Wilbur said forcing on a smile.</p><p>Of course he wasn't okay, this mission was important, this man could be their only way to get all the information they needed to shut the rebel group down.</p><p>George's phone buzzed and Wilbur watched as he pulled it out and smiled at the screen.</p><p> </p><p>"You seem to be in a good mood, what did Dream send you this time?" Wilbur stated.</p><p>George blushed a little, "Just a photo of him and Nick getting lunch, how did you know it was from him?" He asked.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur let out a small laugh, "My dear friend you only smile that way when he is involved" The blush on George's cheeks intensified, amusing Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>"Just marry the man already," Wilbur said finding himself starting to relax as he continued to tease his friend.</p><p> </p><p>"He actually asked me to be his boyfriend last night," George muttered out.</p><p> </p><p>"It's about time!" exclaimed Wilbur, "And what did you say?"</p><p> </p><p>"I told him that I'll think about it, I want to focus on this mission</p><p>first," George replied.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur pinched his nose and closed his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. He then walked over and placed both hands on George's shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>"George you are the smartest person that I know, when it comes to deduction skills and computers no one can match you, how is it that you still make the dumbest of decisions."</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur took in George's shocked expression then continued,</p><p>"You love the man don't you? Then why hesitate, and don't give me that excuse about having to focus on this mission. Is it because your worried about ruining your friendship?"</p><p> </p><p>When George didn't answer Wilbur took that as a yes. He gave George's shoulders a squeeze.</p><p> </p><p>"George, the bond that you and</p><p>Dream share is special, and not even a failed attempt in having a serious relationship with each other is going to change that."</p><p> </p><p>George just stood there frozen, taking in what Wilbur was saying. Just then the voice of the other team spoke up in their earpieces informing Wilbur that they were ready to engage.</p><p>Wilbur let out a sigh and started to hook himself to  the side of the building in preparation to rappel down.</p><p> </p><p>"When this is over you better call him and tell him your answer, and I'm going to be there to make sure you don't chicken out." Wilbur stated smugly as he started his descent.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur waited until everyone else on his team had made it down before asking Fundy for an update on their target. Fundy said that the target had not moved from his chair since they arrived.</p><p> </p><p><em>Odd</em>, Wilbur thought but didn't think much of it, he gave the signal and his team burst through the window and drew their weapons as the other team broke down the door and assumed</p><p>positions, what Wilbur saw made him drop his jaw in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>Their target was strapped to a chair and gagged, he seemed to be trying to scream for help and moved his head as if to point something out in the room.</p><p> </p><p>The agents looked around only to</p><p>discover bombs covering the room and at that very moment the countdown started.</p><p> </p><p>"Everybody get out!" Wilbur shouted as he ran forward in hopes of saving the man, they needed him for</p><p>information.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur could see the fear in the man's eyes as he quickly tried to untie him. When he finally did it, there was only</p><p>a few seconds left. Wilbur helped the man up and started to lead him out the door.</p><p> </p><p>He found the rest of his team waiting for him in the hallway, not wanting to leave their leader behind.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur was about to yell for everybody to get away when George suddenly shouted.</p><p> </p><p>"Wil look out!" Wilbur turned to see</p><p>the man look at them with a sinister smile, he had lifted up his shirt to reveal a bomb strapped to his body.</p><p> </p><p>The man then spoke a few words that made Wilbur's body go numb,</p><p> </p><p>"Death to the children of Stellar"</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur suddenly found himself pushed to the side, landing on the floor with a thud. He turned around to see George launch himself towards the man, pushing him backwards and disappearing into the bomb filled room. The rest of his team quickly made their way towards him checking to see if he was alright.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur just sat there frozen, "Geor..." he tried to call out but he got cut off as the bombs exploded.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur ears were ringing as he painfully tried to get up and found himself in a hospital bed with Niki, Eret and Fundy sitting by him. Eret quickly left to find a doctor while Niki took his hand and Fundy held the other. He asked about his team and Fundy explained that because his team were surrounding him when the explosion happened he was mostly shielded from the blast, but sadly out of the ten men that went in with him, only four had made it out alive.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur cried for the six men that the lost and his sobbing only became louder when he realized that one of them was George.</p><p>No matter how much they tried, Niki and Fundy couldn't comfort him.</p><p> </p><p>George was dead, Clay would never know how much George</p><p>loved him. It was all his fault.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wilbur woke up in cold sweat, he sat up and tried to control his breathing. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>Will the nightmares ever end?</p><p> </p><p>He got out of bed and headed to the door, he stopped to check on Fundy and Eret who were still snoring away in their room, and Tommy and Tubbo who were sleeping on a mattress in the living room, the TV was on but the volume was low.</p><p> </p><p>Since Phil wasn't informed that they would have extra members they had to do the best they could to fit all six of them in three rooms. They had to give Nikki privacy so she took one room, Eret and Fundy offered to bunk together, and the two rookies were excited with the idea of staying up all night and watching TV. <em>Guess they fell asleep</em>, Wilbur thought as he reached for the remote and turned the TV off.</p><p> </p><p>He was headed to the door when Nikki came out of her room  and spotted him. "Wil? Where are you going?" She said with a concerned look on her face.</p><p> </p><p>"Just taking a morning stroll, I'll be back in time for breakfast," He said sending a smile her way before he walked out the door.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur let out a sigh before he started walking to a park nearby. He knew that she was worried about him, he hasn't been the same since the incident, the agents who survived had all quit, much too traumatize with what had happened. He decided to stay, he had to find the organization responsible for that incident.</p><p> </p><p>He remembered the man chilling words. If Wilbur's hunch was correct, the "children of Stellar" meant the students of Stellar academy, that means that the targets of that bomb were him and George as they were the only ones on the team who came from the academy. They had succeed with one target, they would likely come for him again soon.</p><p> </p><p>He reached the park and decided to gather his thoughts on one of the park's benches. According to Clay the Reaper was targeting expelled students of the academy. It was quite possible that the Reaper was part of the organization as well. That was one of the reasons why he wanted to join the team in the US despite being the Head of the UK branch.</p><p> </p><p><em>Maybe I should check in and see how the substitute head is doing,</em> Wilbur thought pulling out his phone and connecting to his assistant through a video call.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey Chief!" A man with a red shirt cheerily spoke through the phone.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey Grian," Wilbur said with a small smile. "How's everything back home?" he asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Everything's fine, I'm sure majority of the agent's would agree that I'm doing a good job so far." Grian said beaming even brighter.</p><p> </p><p>Just then someone entered the room that Grian was in, "Oh hey Mumbo! I'm talking with the Chief right now, do you want to say hi?" Grian said.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur could hear Mumbo letting out a sigh then he spoke up, "Grian… mind explaining why there are chickens in the mailroom."</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur saw Grian's smile wavering as the man let out a nervous chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur sighed, "Gri-"</p><p> </p><p>"Got to go Chief, Bye!" Grian hastily said cutting Wilbur off and ending the call.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur let out a little laugh, Grian was good leader but the man's obsessions with pranks prevented him from becoming chief when the previous one retired. Wilbur was chosen</p><p>instead, he tried to refuse the position but Grian encouraged him to take it saying. "You're the only person I know who won't fire me even if my pranks get out of hand."</p><p> </p><p>After taking a few more minutes Wilbur decided it was about time to head back. Wilbur was lost in his thoughts and kept his gaze to the ground so it was no surprised when he bumped into someone carrying bags full of groceries.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh sorry I wasn't looking at where I was going." Wilbur said.</p><p> </p><p>The man faced the opposite way and mumbled an <em>It's alright</em> before hurrying away. Wilbur found his behavior odd and was wondering why the man felt familiar. He started following the man but eventually lost him and gave up, he then made his way back to the hotel.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>George ducked behind a corner and waited there for a bit before glancing out, he spotted Wilbur who seemed to be looking for him.</p><p> </p><p><em>I was careless</em>, George thought gripping onto the bags he was carrying, he too was lost in thought when he bumped into Wilbur. He had to look the other way so Wilbur wouldn't recognize him, he realized too late that his actions only made him seem suspicious, which is probably why Wilbur started following him.</p><p> </p><p>He saw Wilbur look around for a bit more before he finally turned to leave. George felt his knees go weak and let out a sigh of relief. He came out of his hiding spot and continued to walk back to Clay's house.</p><p> </p><p><em>Wilbur looks tired, I hope he isn't working to hard</em>. Nick did mention that he became a branch Chief. George thought, he felt pretty lonely when he first arrived at the branch but Wilbur was there to offer him company. As much as he missed his friend George knew that this was not the time to reveal that he was still alive.</p><p> </p><p>When he reached the house, Clay and Nick were still sleeping. He didn't know how but they had managed to kick off the blanket in their sleep and where now shivering. George tip toed over to them and pulled the blanket over them. He then headed to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast.</p><p> </p><p>When he was done he headed over to wake Clay and Nick up when he heard a ding come from his computer. He had forgotten that he left it running the whole night. He walked to see what the problem was and felt his breath hitch in his throat. <em>I finally found you</em>, George thought as he memorized the address and quickly went to grab his gun and a few other things. He wrote a note for Clay and Nick before he left and called a cab to take him to his next target.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In an apartment complex a man was nervously typing into his computer, downloading every single file that he could onto an external drive. T<em>his files are important, I can't let them fall into</em></p><p><em>the wrong hands</em>, the man thought.</p><p> </p><p>He let out a sigh when the message popped up indicating that every file had been moved. He felt something cold press onto the back of his head and froze when he heard a familiar voice.</p><p> </p><p>"Give me the files or I'll shoot," George said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.</p><p> </p><p>The man slowly turned his head to see who was threatening him, George pulled off his mask and watched as the man's eyes widened.</p><p> </p><p>"Yo...you," the man stammered out in shock, "but how?"</p><p> </p><p>"Did you really think a little bomb like that could kill me" George responded coldly.</p><p> </p><p>"Now the drive," George demanded.</p><p> </p><p>The man slowly lifted his hand to give George the drive, as George took the drive from him the man sneakily slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed a button on his phone, I hope this works.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Back at Clay's house the two agents had finally woken up to find George missing. Clay found his note explaining that he had to step out for a few minutes and that breakfast was ready. The two men dug in, but as time continued to pass and still no sign of George, Clay started to worry.</p><p> </p><p>"He's probably fine Clay, would you stop pacing." Nick said, starting to get dizzy by watching his friend walk back and forth.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know Nick, I just have a bad feeling." Clay said.</p><p> </p><p>Clay's phone suddenly vibrated, while he walked over to check on it, Nick spotted George's laptop that was in sleep mode on the dining table and decided to snoop a bit. <em>I'm sure George wouldn't mind</em>, he thought as he wiggled the mouse a bit to wake the laptop up.</p><p> </p><p>"Bad just sent me a text that someone sent out an alarm signal around the new apartment complex nearby, Phil wants us to head there with a few other agents to check it out." Clay said walking over to Nick.</p><p> </p><p>"Where is that again?" Nick asked with a hint of worry in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>When Clay told the address he saw a frown form on Nick's face.</p><p> </p><p>"Clay..." Nick started as he turned the laptop to show what was on George's laptop screen. Right there in a tiny pop up box was the exact address of the complex.</p><p> </p><p>"You don't think..." Nick's voice trailed off as Clay rushed into the bedroom and opened one of the drawers.</p><p> </p><p>"His gun is gone," Clay stated grimly, as he turned to look at his friend.</p><p> </p><p>Nick had a determined look on his face, "Grab your keys Clay, we need to get to him before the other agents do."</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile back at the apartment complex George had the man stand and face him.</p><p> </p><p>"Arms behind your head now!" George commanded.</p><p> </p><p>The man slowly complied, "you're much more colder than remember, what happened to the George who was in love with his best friend." the man taunted.</p><p> </p><p>"We trusted you," George said his voice filled with venom.</p><p> </p><p>The man let out a sinister chuckle, "and I can't believe how easy it was to fool you, Wilbur was so desperate to prevent anyone else from getting hurt that he didn't realize the obvious trap laying at his feet."</p><p> </p><p>The man smiled as he saw George's eyes filled with rage.</p><p> </p><p>"You and I are going to take a little trip down to wherever your HQ is and you're going to introduce me to your boss." George said angrily.</p><p> </p><p>The man sighed, "you know George, you have a tendency to become blind to your surroundings when you get to emotional."</p><p> </p><p>The man glanced at the wall clock then felt his phone vibrate once, Perfect the man thought as he smirked at George.</p><p> </p><p>"It appears our time is up my friend," the man said calmly.</p><p> </p><p>"You seem pretty confident that you can get out of this situation alive."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh... I know I'll get out of here alive, because you see George I have an advantage. I have friends while you're all alone."</p><p> </p><p>George was about to respond when the door handle to the apartment room was shot off. Taking advantage of the moment the man quickly ran into his bedroom, stifling a shout of pain when George managed to graze his upper arm with a bullet.</p><p> </p><p>George quickly followed the man into the bedroom, just in time as a flash bang exploded in the room they were just in. George was a bit disoriented at first but manage to focus his attention back to his target. He quickly placed his mask back on and saw that the man had jumped out the window, George was quick to follow as several agents entered the apartment.</p><p> </p><p>George gave chase until he saw the man jump into a car on the side of the road and speed away.</p><p> </p><p>George didn't have time to think as several agents spotted him and were giving chase. George ran as fast as he could ignoring the sting of his injury till he made it to a small suspension bridge. He could see a boat passing under it, he needed to time his jump properly if he was going to stick the landing.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately the agents were arriving sooner than George expected, he could see their cars coming towards him from both sides.</p><p> </p><p><em>They'll catch me at this rate</em>, George thought as realized that he could no longer wait till the boat was in position.</p><p> </p><p><em>Looks like I have no choice</em>, he said to himself as he reached for his gun.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clay gripped the steering wheel, as Nick nervously checked his phone for any updates on the operation.</p><p> </p><p>"Karl said that he's heading to the bridge," Nick informed.</p><p> </p><p>Clay sped up, when the finally arrived they quickly jumped out of the car as the other agents started surrounding George who stood at the bridge's ledge, reaching for something behind him. When George saw them he immediately dropped his hands by his side. He would not kill in front of them, he raised his arms as a sign of surrender. He watched as the other agents started closing in on him, he glanced at Nick and Clay, giving them a subtly nod before leaning back and falling into the water. The agents ran forward and shot a couple of bullets at the spot that George dove in. They were quickly stopped by Karl who told them not to waste bullets.</p><p> </p><p>Nick and Clay stood there frozen in place they felt numb all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>"Not again," Wilbur yelled as he quickly gave out orders to search the width of the river.</p><p> </p><p>Nick was the first one to break from the trance and went over to Clay and shook him gently. "Clay come on, I'm sure he's fine but we need to find him."</p><p> </p><p>"The water..."Clay voice was shaky, Nick lifted an eyebrow at in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>Clay gripped his friends arm tightly, "The water will reopen his wound Nick," Clay stated, panic clear in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>Nick pushed Clay into the back seat of the car while he took the wheel. Clay was much to shaken to drive. He drove slowly scanning the water for any sign of George, he frequently glanced at Clay who was frantically looking out the window.</p><p> </p><p>"We'll find him Clay, don't worry." Nick said trying to sound confident as to not make his friend worry more. Nick silently prayed that they would find him before he bleeds out or drowns.</p><p> </p><p>"Nick stop!" Clay yelled at his friend who hit the brakes.</p><p> </p><p>"Clay what ar-" Nick tried to say as he friend rushed out of the car and dove into the water.</p><p> </p><p>Nick hurried over scanning the water for any sign of Clay and George. Suddenly Clay popped out of the water and gasped for air using one arm to swim, Nick let out a sigh of relief when he saw George being held by the other arm.</p><p> </p><p>Nick dove in to help Clay bring George to land. Clay was exhausted when he reached the water's edge but he had no time to rest. He crawled over to George, pulled off his mask and checked for a pulse, nothing.</p><p> </p><p>"No..." Clay whimpered out, he immediately started CPR.</p><p> </p><p>Tears fell from both Nick's and Clay's faces as they grew more and more desperate with every compression and breath that Clay gave George.</p><p> </p><p>"Please George you can't leave us again," Clay begged.</p><p> </p><p>And just like that George suddenly started coughing up water, he gasped for air, and when he his eyes finally focused on his friends' tear stained faces he smiled.</p><p> </p><p>"You guys look terrible right now," he said, his voice sounding weak but it was enough to get his two friends to start laughing.</p><p> </p><p>Nick noticed his leg bleeding out, and  quickly got Clay's attention.</p><p> </p><p>"There's an emergency kit in the car, can you please get it Nick."</p><p> </p><p>Nick stood up and headed straight to the car.</p><p> </p><p>Clay tore a part of his shirt and tied it around George's leg as an improvised tourniquet. He lifted George's head and placed it on his lap, then reached for George's hand and held it tight.</p><p> </p><p>"I thought I lost you back there", Clay's other hand brushed off strands of hair from George's face.</p><p> </p><p>"George if we're going to make this relationship work you need to stop with all these stunts, honestly I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack every time I see you jump off something."</p><p> </p><p>George giggled, and brought their joined hands up to his face and kissed the back of Clay's hand.</p><p> </p><p>"I love you", George said.</p><p> </p><p>"I love you too," Clay replied with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Awwww"</p><p> </p><p>The couple turned to see Nick looking at them with one hand on his chest and the other holding the medicine kit.</p><p> </p><p>"So this is how it feels like to be a third wheel", Nick playfully said.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, I've been third wheeling for you and Karl for years now so you have no right to complain." Clay said and smirked when he saw his friend's face turn red.</p><p> </p><p>"hmmm...Karl huh?" George teased with raise eyebrows.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't you start now mister, may I remind you that I am holding the one thing that can save you right now." Nick warned, but George and Clay knew that he wasn't serious.</p><p> </p><p>Nick cleaned and dressed the wound while Clay held onto George's hand.</p><p> </p><p>"We need to get changed or we'll catch a cold," George said when it was done and he tried to sit up with help from Clay.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, we better hurry up and hide you before the other agents come." Clay stated positioning his arms on George's back and under his knees in preparation to carry him, while Nick organized everything back into the kit.</p><p> </p><p>They froze when they heard the sound of a gun cocking behind them.</p><p> </p><p>"Agents Dream and Sapnap you better have a good explanation for this."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The trio turned to see Karl with his gun pointed directly to them. Clay and George turned to Nick who surprisingly had a calm look on his face.</p><p> </p><p>He smiled at them and whispered, “I got this.”</p><p> </p><p>He calmly stood up, and he felt a pang in his chest when he saw Karl tense up and point the gun towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t move Sapnap,” Karl said in a shaky voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Calm down Karl, please put the gun down so we can talk,” Nick said as he took a step towards his partner.</p><p> </p><p>“I said don’t move!” Karl shouted his body shaking, and Nick knew that Karl was scared.</p><p> </p><p>“Karl come on, you trust me don’t you?” Nick said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re helping a murderer, why should I trust you.” Karl said angrily.</p><p> </p><p>“He happens to be my friend Karl, give him a chance to explain,” Nick said taking a few small steps forward.</p><p> </p><p>Clay and George held their breaths as Nick kept moving towards Karl despite the latter’s warnings. Nick kept walking till the gun was pressed against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>Karl’s hand was shaking, he didn’t want to shoot Nick, in fact he couldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>“Karl…” Nick said sweetly forcing Karl to meet his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” Nick added.</p><p> </p><p>Clay and George let out a sigh of relief as Karl lowered his head and his gun.</p><p> </p><p>Nick moved to wrap his partner in a hug but Karl placed a firm hand on his chest to stop him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll get me wet idiot,” Karl said motioning to Nick’s wet clothes, Nick chuckled trying to hide his disappointment.</p><p> </p><p>“And you,” Karl said turning his gaze towards George, “you better have a good explanation for this.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay looked at George with concern, but George simply smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright Clay, it’s about time that I tell you and Nick the truth.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>He turned to face Karl, “but I’m sure that you want to have some people with you for security reasons.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I would rather not end up as your next victim,” Karl responded coldly.</p><p> </p><p>“Very well, but only a few, and only those you can fully trust.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>They agreed to meet back at Clay’s place. After Karl went back to his car and headed to the agency, the trio jumped into Clay’s car, with Nick at the wheel since Clay wanted to stay with George, and started to drive to Clay's house.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never seen that sweet side of you before, you’re quite smitten with Karl aren’t you?” George smugly said to Nick. Clay let out a wheeze while Nick groaned.</p><p> </p><p>“Not another word out of you two or I’ll crash this car,” Nick warned.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah right, you won’t kill us. You need someone to be your best man during your wedding after all, when you finally have the guts to confess to Karl that is.” Clay teased.</p><p> </p><p>Nick suddenly swerved the car a bit to the right catching his friends off guard and making them panic a bit.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t test me gentlemen,” Nick said, the other two looked at each other then burst out laughing.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>When they finally reached the house, Clay carried George in and they changed into some dry clothes. While Nick made them something warm to drink, Clay gently laid George on his bed. He placed a pillow under George's leg then gave him a peck on the forehead.</p><p> </p><p>Nick came in later with a tray that carried three mugs, they had just finished their drinks when there was a knock on the door. Nick stood to answer it, while Clay gave George a kiss before joining him.</p><p> </p><p>The duo took in a deep breath and looked at each other before Clay turned the handle.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi Dream, hey Sapnap, Karl said that you had something to tell us.” Phil said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Clay opened the door wider for everyone, Phil and Karl walked in, followed by Darryl, Zak then Wilbur and his team. Clay and Nick shared a look,<em> this was not a few people.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Can we make this quick, we really need to get back on the reaper’s trail.” Wilbur said.</p><p> </p><p>Nick and Clay looked at each other again, where do they start.</p><p> </p><p>“Clay? Nick? What is it that you wanted to tell us?” Darryl asked with a sweet smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Well you see…” Nick started looking over to Karl who was just staring at them coldly.</p><p> </p><p>“Clay you tell them,” Nick said hitting his friend lightly on the ribs with his elbow.</p><p> </p><p>Clay threw his friend a look before facing the crowd, he was about to speak when another knock came from the door. Clay and Nick looked at Karl.</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone I invited is already here.” Karl said with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>Clay went to the door and slowly opened it.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you guys doing here?” Clay asked, he was shocked to see Fruitberries, Illumina and Technoblade standing outside his door.</p><p> </p><p>The men raised a confused eyebrow at Clay as they walked in and entered the already crowded living room, “Didn’t you send us a text to meet you here?”</p><p> </p><p>“No I didn’t” Clay answered equally confused.</p><p> </p><p>“I sent the text,” A voice spoke from behind the group.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone in the room turned to see George limping towards Clay and Nick, who immediately reached out to support him on both sides. “We’re gonna need all the help we can get.” George told them.</p><p> </p><p>“Ge-George?” a chorus of surprised voices spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey everyone…” George said with a nervous smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I know that this might be quite the surprise for you guys but-” George was cut off as he was tackled into a group hug by Fruitberries, Illumina, Techno, Nikki, Fundy and Eret.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re alive…” Illumina said with tears forming in their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“But how?” Fundy asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I knew that you wouldn’t let that bomb kill you,” Techno said rubbing George’s hair in a playful manner.</p><p> </p><p>George smiled at all his friends then turned his attention to Wilbur who was frozen in his place. Wilbur’s body started shaking uncontrollably, and tears started to form in his eyes. George managed to limp to his friend in time before Wilbur could slumped to the ground. George wrapped him in a tight hug as Wilbur’s tears fell on his shoulder and his breath increasingly became ragged.</p><p> </p><p>“You idiot, you could have at least texted me that you were still alive you know,” Wilbur sobbed.</p><p> </p><p>“I know and I’m sorry that I left you alone for so long.”</p><p> </p><p>They both stayed like until Wilbur finally calmed down. George broke away from the hug and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“It is good to see you again my friend,” He said, Wilbur returned his smile with a tear stained face.</p><p> </p><p>Nick and Clay grabbed a few chairs from the dinning table and brought them out to the living room, it wasn’t enough for everyone but Tommy and Tubbo were more then happy to sit on the carpeted floor, while Karl, Techno and the two masters opted to stand up. Clay gently guided George to the couch then sat beside him with Nick on George’s other side. Clay reached over and gave George’s hand a little squeeze, and George sent him a smile before they turned to see the smirking faces of Fruitberries, Illumina, and Phil.</p><p> </p><p>“I have a lot of questions,” Wilbur said eyeing their joined hands with a smirk, “But I think it’s best we start from the beginning.”</p><p> </p><p>George nodded, he took a deep breath then spoke, “Well first of all I am the Reaper.”</p><p> </p><p>Gasps and shock faces filled the room, “Well that explains how you were able to get the files of your targets despite it being heavily guarded.” Fruitberries said.</p><p> </p><p>“Well I did create it, so of course I know my way in.” George said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“George, why are you doing this?” Illumina asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Wil, you remember the case that lead to the bombing incident right?” George asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I do but what does that have to do with your killing spree?”</p><p> </p><p>“All of my targets were part of that secret organization.”</p><p> </p><p>George looked at Wilbur’s face that contorted from confusion to fear. “ You don’t mean…”</p><p> </p><p>George nodded, “the very people that are out to get us, used to be one of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Tubbo raised his hand and said “I’m sorry, I’m not following here.”</p><p> </p><p>“The bombing incident that happened a year ago was not just a random terrorist attack, it was specifically set up to kill Wilbur and me.” He let the others soak in the information before he continued.</p><p> </p><p>“A few weeks before the incident, several of our agents who also came from Stellar were attack. They managed to escape but not without injury, we then discovered that the attacks were planned by an organization. The members of the organization were smart, not leaving any clues to their identities. One of our informants somehow managed to discover the identity of one of its members, being desperate and all we didn’t even question how he got that information. I discovered later after the incident that our informant was a traitor and was secretly working for the organization, but before I could get my hands on him he escaped to another country. This past year I’ve been searching for information about this organization, and it seems like its goal is to destroy the academy and anyone connected to it, so I’ve been slowly disposing their members along the way. I know that it’s wrong, but it was the only thing I could think of to protect everyone without scaring the other members away.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence fell upon the room as everyone was trying to process the new information.</p><p> </p><p>Techno cleared his throat, “I’m sure that any one of us would have done the same thing,” he stated.</p><p> </p><p>All of them turned to face him,  “The academy took us in and made us into one giant family, I’m sure that anyone from the academy would have done the same thing if it meant protecting everyone.” Techno stated with a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>“He right,” Phil said “and I’m sure the higher ups will be willing to turn a blind eye when they hear your story.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks guys,” George said sending both of them an appreciative smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Well only one thing to do now,” Illumina said grabbing everyone’s attention, “We need to find this secret organization and put a stop to it before they hurt more of my children.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at Fruitberries who nodded at him. “We need to find their base and leader.”</p><p> </p><p>“I believe I can help with that,” George said as he pulled out the drive that he stole earlier that day, it was now wrapped in a water proof bag. “It’s a good thing that I wrapped it back in the apartment, or it would have been destroyed when I dove off the bridge.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?” Wilbur asked.</p><p> </p><p>“A present from our traitorous informant.” George said and smiled when he saw Wilbur’s eyes widen.</p><p> </p><p>“I managed to track our friend here, I discovered from a few previous targets that he is the assistant to the organization’s leader, and was the one who kept all their important files. I’m gonna need some help sorting this information out though.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll do it,” Zak said excitedly, glancing at Darryl who nodded in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>“Let us handle it George,” Eret said walking over to take the drive. “You focus on healing that leg of yours.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll be needed when they raid their base, we hackers won’t be able to help in combat so let us handle all the technical stuff.” Fundy added.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” George said his eye lids starting to get heavy, probably from all the excitement and the medicine he took. Clay was quick to notice this and suggested that George get some rest. George agreed and Clay carried him back to the bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>“You are no longer alone George,” Clay said as he gently placed him on the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed before he continued, “We’ll find these guys and bring them to justice.”</p><p> </p><p>George smiled and placed a kiss on Clay’s cheek, “Thank you Clay, for trusting me even when you shouldn’t have.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay leaned in and gave George a kiss, “I love you,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>George blushed, “I…I love you too.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay leaned in again and kissed him again, this time it lasted a bit longer, “Get some sleep now, I’ll check on you later.”</p><p> </p><p>George nodded and closed his eyes to rest. Clay waited for a while till he saw George’s breaths even out then he headed back into the living room, where he was meet with smirks and smug looks.</p><p> </p><p>“Not one word from any of you,” Clay warned, he turned to look at Nick who was smiling the most, “especially you.”</p><p> </p><p>Nick raised his hands as if in surrender and let out a chuckle, “Aww come on Clay, we’re all curious on how this transition from best friends to lovers finally occurred.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait so you don’t have any details, what kind of third wheel are you?” Wilbur asked in a joking manner.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey give me break, I just walked in on them making out yesterday and was too shock about George being alive to ask for any details.” Nick responded.</p><p> </p><p>“Making out?” Illumina said with a smirk and eyebrow raised.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone turned to look at Clay whose face went bright red.</p><p> </p><p>“Can we not talk about this right now,” Clay said.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay Okay,” Fruitberries said still smiling in amusement at his student, “but we need the details later.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay let out a groan, <em>this was gonna be a long afternoon.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So what’s the plan?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“First things first, we need to sort out the information in that drive,” Fruitberries said, he turned to the hackers. “ would you like to stay in the academy for a while, we have some of the best equipment that you can use.”</p><p> </p><p>The hackers turned to their respective chiefs who gave them an approving nod, then accepted.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll keep the agency busy in the mean time, I don’t think this is the best time to reveal who the Reaper is, so I’ll keep the higher ups distracted until we settle this matter.” Phil said, Wilbur and Nikki offered to help him.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to stay in groups, we can’t let the organization catch us off guard, they now know that George is alive and that he has their information so we need to be on high alert.” Illumina pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone agreed and split up into teams, the hackers would head to the academy with Fruitberries, Illumina and Techno to protect them. Phil, Wilbur and Nikki would distract the agency and look after Tommy and Tubbo. Karl would stay with Nick, Clay and George for extra support.</p><p> </p><p>After everyone left the awkward tension was thick in the air. Karl was silent and seemingly avoiding Nick for some reason, even when the three sat down for dinner Karl sat on the far end of the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Well goodnight,” Clay said starting to head towards the room. “I don’t exactly have a guest room so you guys will have to decide on who takes the couch and who gets the mattress.”</p><p> </p><p>Nick turned to him with pleading eyes mouthing <em>don’t leave me</em>. Clay merely smirked at his friend and mouthed back <em>Good luck</em>, before he went into the bedroom to join George. Nick turned back to Karl who was sitting on the couch and was trying to seem busy with his phone. Emphasis on the word trying, Nick could obviously see that Karl’s focus was somewhere else.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey I -”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll take the couch so you take the floor,” Karl cut him off and laid down for the night.</p><p> </p><p>Nick let out a sigh and headed to the mattress on the floor, he glanced at Karl who had his back to him. <em>What did I do wrong?</em> Nick wondered as he fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile inside the bedroom Clay walked in to find George awake.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey you wanna eat dinner?” Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe later,” came the response as George made little grabby motions with his hands. Clay chuckled, got into bed and snuggled with him.</p><p> </p><p>He quickly informed George of the plan, and that Karl was staying over.</p><p> </p><p>“He still mad?” George asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, but he’s avoiding Nick and that’s not good.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’ll be fine,” George said “I’m sure that they’ll work something out just like we did.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay smiled and kissed George on the nose before laying down to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>George woke up in the middle of the night due to his grumbling tummy. Clay face was currently nuzzled into his neck with his arm over George’s chest. George gave him a light peck on the forehead before gently removing Clay's hand and slowly got out of bed. There were still leftovers on the table and after eating his fill he headed to the living room to check on Nick and Karl. Nick was snoring away on the mattress, but George found the couch empty. It took him a while but he finally found the boy sitting outside on one of the steps that led up to the house. He grabbed the blanket off the couch and opened the door, grabbing Karl’s attention.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a cold night you should probably wrap up.” George said as he closed the door, walked over to Karl and handed him the blanket.</p><p> </p><p>Karl hesitated for a minute, before he took it, “Thank you” he said.</p><p> </p><p>George gave him a kind smile, “No problem, Nick would kill me if he found out I let you freeze to death.”</p><p> </p><p>He saw Karl tense up when at the mention of Nick.</p><p> </p><p>“Did something happen Karl?” George asked.</p><p> </p><p>Karl let out a sigh, “It’s just…I thought we were close, and then I find out about the academy and of his past, about this whole other life that he’s lived.” Karl’s voice started getting shaky, George reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“I just feel like he doesn’t trust me enough to have told me this before, I know that he is entitled to having secrets but still… we’ve been partners for years I thought that he could at least be comfortable telling me about his past.”</p><p> </p><p>George rubbed his back then spoke, “Well I know for a fact that he does trust you, or he wouldn’t have been so calm while you had that gun pointed at him.”</p><p> </p><p>Karl looked up to meet George’s eyes, George smiled at him before he continued. “All of us in the academy have a dark origin, and Nick had one of the worst. I think the reason he didn’t tell you earlier was because he didn’t want you to pity him. Nick always puts on this act of being tough and strong, but I know that he’s still really affected by what happened at his orphanage, it took some time for me and Clay to finally get him to open up to us.”</p><p> </p><p>George waited for a while for Karl to process the information. “You know today was the first time I heard Nick talk to someone in such a gentle way, he must really like you for him to show you that side of him.”</p><p> </p><p>George watched as Karl cheeks started to grow pink and he let out a small laugh. “Just be patient with him Karl, fair warning though if you break his heart I will find you, and I’ll make sure nobody finds the body.” George jokingly warned.</p><p> </p><p>Karl laughed softly, “Sorry I was rude to you this morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s understandable, I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes. Now why don’t we head back in and get some sleep.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>Karl nodded and followed him back in, he made sure that Karl was comfortable before he headed back into the bedroom. He laid down and stared at the ceiling with a smile. <em>Yup, they’re gonna be just fine.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clay woke up the next morning finding George’s side of the bed empty. He quickly got out of bed and headed to the kitchen where he was greeted with a surprising scene. Karl was helping George with breakfast and the two were chatting away happily.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning,” George said when he finally noticed Clay.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning Dream,” Karl greeted with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Clay was much too stunned to respond, <em>when did they become the best of friends</em>. They were soon joined by a still very sleepy Nick.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning Sapnap, sleep well?” Karl greeted him with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Nick eyes were blown open in surprise,<em> wasn’t Karl mad at me last night?</em></p><p> </p><p>He looked at Clay for answers, but his friend merely shrugged at him and gestured to George who was busy setting the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Sap, you ok?” Karl asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Oh yeah I’m good.” Nick quickly answered. Who cares how it happened as long as Karl was talking to him again.</p><p> </p><p>The four quickly fell into a comfortable conversation, after breakfast Nick and Clay took over the dishes while Karl helped George redress his wound.</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t look that bad, at least your swim yesterday didn’t get it infected.” Karl pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>George laughed and thanked Karl for the help, before the two started chatting away about random things.</p><p> </p><p>Nick watched as the two interacted with each other, “Okay since when were they on good terms.” He whispered to Clay.</p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea, I woke up this morning and found them both cooking.” Clay responded.</p><p> </p><p>Nick and Clay continued to stare at their partners, feeling a tug on their heartstrings whenever George and Karl laughed. <em>How can they be so cute</em>, they thought at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“Like what you see?” George said smugly when he noticed them staring, Karl cupped his face with his hands trying to hide his blushing checks.</p><p> </p><p><em>Sapnap was staring at me</em>, Karl yelled in his head. He turned his head to see Nick, looking equally embarrassed that he had been caught and seemed to be avoiding Karl’s gaze.</p><p> </p><p>Clay merely let out a small wheeze, “as a matter of fact yes,” he replied with a playful grin.</p><p> </p><p>George smiled at his lover and was about to say something when a phone rang.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s up Wilbur?” Clay asked putting him on speaker.</p><p> </p><p>“We need you guys at the academy, also can you pick up some food for our hardworking hackers?” came the reply.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, we’ll be there as soon as we can.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>The four men quickly freshened up and Clay drove them to the academy. They made sure to stop and buy some muffins along the way.</p><p> </p><p>When they arrive Techno was there to greet them. He guided them into the room where the others were already waiting for them.</p><p> </p><p>They took a good look around the room, it had a few computers and a coffee machine in the corner. They spotted Zak who seemed to be asleep on Darryl’s shoulder, and the latter had his head rested on top of Zak’s, he was asleep too. Meanwhile Eret and Fundy where still typing away on their computers, but they both looked liked their eyelids would drop at any moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you guys seriously pull an all-nighter?” Karl asked the hackers.</p><p> </p><p>Eret turned to face him with a very sleepy smile, “We underestimated the amount of information that we had to go through, but we’re actually almost done.” He said, barely keeping his eyes open and had started nodding off to sleep while talking to them.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously how did you even pull this off?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Caffeine,” Eret stated, “lot’s and lot’s of caffeine.” He motioned to the trash bin in the corner that was over flowing with paper cups. “It was a good thing that this room had a coffee machine or Fundy would have never survived.”</p><p> </p><p>In the corner they saw Fundy taking a lazy sip of his coffee, before returning to typing.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur walked over and grabbed the cup. “Okay I think you’ve had enough coffee, how about you have some food then get some sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>“But we’re so close to finishing and I need my morning coffee.” Fundy grumpily reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“I think your body’s taken all the caffeine it can take, right now you need food and sleep.” Wilbur pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“I want my coffee!” Fundy yelled, waking up Zak and Darryl in the process.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning you two sleep well?” Clay asked as he handed a still disoriented Darryl a bag of muffins, as Wilbur and Fundy continued to argue in the background.</p><p> </p><p>Darryl smiled his thanks, he was much to tired to respond, and handed a grumpy looking Zak a muffin.</p><p> </p><p>George took the other bag of snacks to Eret and Fundy, who decided to pause his argument with Wilbur to fill his belly.</p><p> </p><p>Eret continued to type while eating however, he seemed determined to finish his task. After a few more minutes of typing he turned to the rest of the group with a smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s done.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eret pulled up the file so everyone could see, “the drive had tons of info so it took a while to sort out but I think I finally found their base.”</p><p> </p><p>He showed everyone a file that contained the address of an abandoned power plant that was located on the outskirts of town. The file came complete with renovation plans and the group were able to get a full understanding of the structure.</p><p> </p><p>“This is it! Now that we have everything we need, let’s just head over there and get this over with.” Wilbur stated happily.</p><p> </p><p>“I would advise against that,” Fruitberries said as he and Illumina walked into the room.</p><p> </p><p>“In order to pull this operation off we need everyone in top condition, including our hackers. I suggest you let them rest up for now and we can proceed with the operation tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone agreed and the hackers were led away by the group into one of the academy’s guest rooms. Fruitberries asked to speak to his students privately.</p><p> </p><p>“We want to show you something,” Illumina said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Leaving Niki and Karl to watch over the hackers, the group followed the two masters into a weapons room. Illumina tossed one of the guns to Clay.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve been developing some new weapons lately, these are meant to stun one's target rather than kill. I hope you understand that even though they are currently on the wrong path these people were once part of our family, and are still considered my children, I would rather like to avoid any of them dying.” Illumina stated, Fruitberries gave him an approving nod.</p><p> </p><p>“We understand master,” came the response, though Techno did seem a little disappointed.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, now how well trained are the other two?” Illumina asked, referring to Karl and Niki.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to make sure that they can handle themselves against specially trained assassins.” Fruitberries explained.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually about that…” Nick started.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean I can’t go!” Karl yelled.</p><p> </p><p>It was now nighttime, the hackers were now well rested and ready to assist in the mission. Once everyone was geared up Nick broke the news that Niki, Tommy, Tubbo and Karl would stay behind.</p><p> </p><p>“I mean exactly what I said Karl, this is a family matter, let us handle our siblings.” Nick said firmly.</p><p> </p><p>“Nick this is a dangerous mission you need all the help you can get, you have no idea how many of them you’ll have to fight.” Karl reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“We can handle ourselves Karl, we have trained for this.” Nick answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Nick you mean so much to me you can’t expect me to just sit here while you go off and - ” Karl got cut off as Nick gripped him in a tight hug, causing the rest of the group who were silently watching the drama unfold, gasp in surprise. Clay was quick to snap a picture and George gave him an approving smile.</p><p> </p><p>“You mean so much to me too Karl,” Nick whispered softly so only Karl could hear. “Which is why I don’t want to see you get hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>Karl was about to say something as Nick pulled away from the hug, but the words never left his mouth as Nick hit him lightly on the side of his neck, right on the vagus nerve, knocking him out.</p><p> </p><p>Nick quickly caught him before Karl could hit the floor and carried him to the couch in the room.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure about this Nick?” Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>Nick nodded, “I don’t think I could handle it if he got hurt, I might just kill someone in anger.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re totally whipped,” George said smugly.</p><p> </p><p>Nick shot him a warning look, but it only made George giggle.</p><p> </p><p>“Please take care of him,” Nick asked Niki. She wasn’t exactly happy either with the arrangement but she wouldn’t dare go against Wilbur’s orders. Wilbur had agreed to the arrangement not wanting a repeat of what happened a year ago.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile Tommy was pouting in the corner, “It’s not fair, why can’t I go? I’m part of this family too!” he complained.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur walked over to him, “Now Tommy don’t be upset, we need you here to protect those staying behind. The organization now knows that George is alive and might even know that we have teamed up to stop them, that puts the hackers in danger and with Karl out of commission we need you to help Niki protect them.”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy was still mad though and pushed Wilbur aside, he headed to one of the rooms and slammed the door shut. Tubbo though was more on the understanding side. He walked up to each one of them and gave them all hugs, telling them to stay safe before he headed to the room Tommy locked himself in and attempted to get his friend to come out.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Phil said as the group gave one last nod to the hackers and headed out to their cars.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The group had to split up into different cars so Phil, Techno and Wilbur got in one car, Fruitberries and Illumina in another and Clay was joined by Nick and George in his.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve heard that you’ve been doing a good job as Chief over in the UK,” Techno said to Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been trying,” Wilbur said with a small smile, “how’s life as an instructor at the academy?”</p><p> </p><p>Techno’s face pulled into a small frown, “You know how I feel about orphans.”</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur and Phil laughed, “Did you forget that you were one before you came to the academy?” Wilbur asked as he genuinely smiled for the first time in a while.</p><p> </p><p>Phil smiled at his friends, “When this is over we should go out for a few drinks and catch up.” His companions nodded in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile in Clay’s car, Nick was trying to reach for Clay’s phone that George was currently holding.</p><p> </p><p>“Delete it now!” Nick yelled from the backseat in embarrassment, as George who was sitting in the front continued to tease him with the photo that Clay had taken when he hugged Karl earlier.</p><p> </p><p>“His cheeks are so pink,” Clay laughed out after glancing into the rear view mirror to see how Nick was doing.</p><p> </p><p>“Awww, Nicky, I didn’t know that you could be so over protective.” George crooned.</p><p> </p><p>“Call me that again and we’re gonna have issues.” Nick stated.</p><p> </p><p>This set Clay and George into a fit of laughter that Nick eventually joined in.</p><p> </p><p>“So do you finally have the guts to confess?” Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know Clay, what if he says no?” came the answer.</p><p> </p><p>Clay and George shared a look, how can he be so dense?</p><p> </p><p>“Well… you’ll never know if you don’t give it a try, and hey if he breaks your heart I’ll take care of him, then we can go and drown ourselves in ice-cream and chocolate.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>Nick laughed, “Thanks guys.”</p><p> </p><p>Clay slowly brought the car to a stop as he saw his two masters step out of the car in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>Behind them Wilbur, Phil and Techno were exiting their car as well.</p><p> </p><p>The trio looked at each other, <em>It’s time.</em></p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>They had made sure to park a bit farther away from the base and took some time to check if their earpieces were working. After the hackers confirmed that communications were up and running the group stealthily made their way to the plant.</p><p> </p><p>The front gate was heavily guarded and after tapping into the plant’s security cameras, the hackers informed that there was a side of the wall that didn’t have any guards. The group made their way over and using some equipment they scaled the wall. The hackers recorded a small clip from the cameras and put in on repeat so that the group wouldn’t be seen as they made their way over the wall.</p><p> </p><p>Fruitberries gathered his students in a huddle once inside, “Okay you guys split up, our priority is to find their boss, Illumina and I will serve as distractions.” The group set the plan into action, they waited and watched as their masters shot two guards with the stun bullets that they made. The guards shook a bit before collapsing to the ground. This quickly got the attention of their comrades who were quick to fire real bullets at the two. Illumina and Fruitberries quickly ran, leading the guards away from the group.</p><p> </p><p>Phil checked to see if the coast was clear, before giving the signal for the rest to follow him into the plant using one of it’s side doors. There were several guards inside which the group quickly took down, they contacted the hackers to quickly kill all the cameras and help guide them through the building.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere in the building a man was watching a huge screen that showed all of the cameras' feed. The smile that he wore on his face got increasingly brighter as one by one the cameras were turned off.</p><p> </p><p>“Sir they have taken control of all our cameras.” the informant that George took the drive from, spoke up from behind the man.</p><p> </p><p>His boss merely hummed a response.</p><p> </p><p>The informant took in a shaky breath, his boss was scary when he was quiet. “I’m sorry sir, it’s my fault that they found us.” he said, as he reached for the bandage on his arm were George had shot him yesterday.</p><p> </p><p>Still no response from his boss, the man took a deep breath once again. “I will accept any punishment for my incompetence.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s perfectly fine Quackity.” His boss said as he got up from his chair and walked over to him.</p><p> </p><p>“I planned for this to happen so there is nothing to worry about, besides this just makes things a bit more interesting before we succeed with our plan.” His boss placed both hands on each of Quackity’s shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Now go, the guards may need your help, try to stall them for as much as you can.” His boss said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Quackity quickly pulled out his gun and headed outside the room.</p><p> </p><p>The boss then turned his attention to the screen once again. One of the camera’s focused on Wilbur’s face before it got killed.Then all the camera’s died and the screen turned black with a no signal message popping up. </p><p> </p><p>The man smiled, “I’ve missed you my friend.”</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>George took in a deep breath before stepping out of the corner and firing more shots, hitting three targets perfectly then ducked back as another rain of bullets came from his opponents.</p><p> </p><p>“They certainly are persistent,” George said as he reloaded.</p><p> </p><p>Phil and Wilbur took their turns knocking the rest out. The group advanced with George in the lead. Nick seemed to be a little impatient and ran ahead despite warnings to slow down. He ran around the corner and came face to face with another squad of enemies, just before the bullets could reach him Clay pulled him back behind the corner. He landed on the ground with a thud, and had a sheepish smile on his face. “Thanks,” he said clearly embarrassed by his blunder.</p><p> </p><p>Clay smirked at him, “Don’t forget that Karl’s waiting for you back at the academy.”</p><p> </p><p>Nick scoffed at his friend and pulled out his gun, firing again along with Clay. They waited for the electric shock to take effect before they come out of their hiding place. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming from behind them, George peeked out and saw that among the newcomers was Quackity.</p><p> </p><p>“Wilbur, you guys go ahead, leave this guys to us.” George said.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur looked at George sternly, “Stay safe.” He commanded.</p><p> </p><p>George smiled at his friend before joining Nick and Clay in battle. Wilbur glanced at them one last time before running to catch up with Techno and Phil.</p><p> </p><p>“The boss’s room should be right ahead.” Fundy informed Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>Of course it wouldn’t be so easy as the trio soon found a squad of guards waiting for them. Techno immediately rushed forward knocking each guard out with what looked like a bat but had an electric charge to it. Phil ran to help him then turned to Wilbur, “Get to the boss.”</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded to his friends and ran past the fight and towards the room up ahead. There were two more guards at the door, Wilbur shot them before they could react then burst through the door. He aimed his gun at the lone man, who was facing away from him, in the room.</p><p> </p><p>“Hands up where I can see them.” He ordered.</p><p> </p><p>The man raised his hands up then slowly turned to face Wilbur. The minute Wilbur saw his face his hands started to shake and he lowered his gun.</p><p> </p><p>“Wilbur, it’s been a long time.” The man said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Schlatt?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Flashback to many years ago when Wilbur was around 10 and Jshclatt was around  7</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"WILBUR!!!" Jschlatt yelled in his ear.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur was woken up from his sleep, and jumped out of his bed in surprised, well if you could call a flatten cardboard box a bed, he clutched his torn shirt and tried to control his heartbeat.</p><p> </p><p>"Schlatt! What the hell is wrong with you."</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt smiled at his friend and pulled out a box, inside of it were some loaves of bread, they seemed to be old and nearly moldy.</p><p> </p><p>"The baker was kind enough to give me some of his old bread, we can have this for breakfast." He said cheerfully.</p><p> </p><p>"But it was my turn to look for food..." Wilbur said, sounding guilty.</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt split the bread evenly before turning to smile at his friend. "Yeah but you worked so hard yesterday to earn money, I thought that I should at least do something to show my appreciation." He handed Wilbur his share.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur smiled at their meager meal and ruffled Jschlatt's hair. "I'm older of course I'm going to work hard to provide for us."</p><p> </p><p>They quickly dug into their breakfast, it was probably gonna be their only meal for the day. Growing up in the slums was hard, many of the children grew up to be as cold as their parents. Yet neither Wilbur nor Jschlatt seemed affected by the environment they were forced to live in. Wilbur's mom had died after giving birth to him, leaving him all alone with his dad, who was constantly getting drunk and unable to hold a job. Jschlatt's father had left the family for another woman, his mother became depressed and turned to crime. She was soon caught and sent to jail, leaving Jschlatt to fend for himself.</p><p> </p><p>Once they were done with their breakfast they roamed the streets looking to see if anyone needed help. Unlike other children from their community who resorted to stealing or begging, Wilbur and Jschlatt preferred to work for their money. After a long day of carrying boxes of supplies for a store the boys happily walked home with a few bills and a pack of biscuits from the storekeeper.</p><p> </p><p>"The biscuits will make a good breakfast tomorrow." Jschlatt said as he happily skipped around Wilbur. "How much longer until we have enough Wilbur?"</p><p> </p><p>The boys had a plan to save up enough money to escape the slums, a portion of the money that they got from doing jobs were safely tucked away in preparation for that day.</p><p> </p><p>"We still need a lot more money, but don't worry once we get out of here we'll get ourselves a small house with running water. We'll have comfortable beds and be able to eat three times a day." Wilbur stated with a hopeful smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Will I be able to go to school?" Jschlatt asked.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur ruffled his friend's hair, "Of course, I'll work hard so that I can pay for it."</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt smiled, "Okay and when I'm done, I'll get a job that pays lots of money, then you can go to school too."</p><p> </p><p>The boys continued chatting happily about their future and they didn't notice Wilbur's father who was incredibly drunk waiting for them.</p><p> </p><p>"Where the hell did you boys run off to?" The man yelled.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur quickly got in front of Jschlatt to protect him, then stayed silent. It was best not to say anything that might anger his father.</p><p> </p><p>"Oi, I heard that you boys have been doing some jobs around town," His voice slurred as he wobbled towards them.</p><p> </p><p>"That's a good boy," His father reached out and patted his head. "Now give me the money, your father needs to by a drink."</p><p> </p><p>"Your already drunk dad, and we need the money to buy food." Wilbur reasoned his voice shaky.</p><p> </p><p>Big mistake, Wilbur's father grabbed the boy by his hair and slammed him into the ground. It was a good thing that Wilbur was quick enough to cushion his head using his hands, or he might have gotten a concussion. His hands were hurting now sure, but at least his head was safe.</p><p> </p><p>"Maybe you didn't hear me you little brat, I said give me the damn money!" His father yelled as he continued to hold the boy down.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur tried to free himself, but his father's grip was too strong. Jschlatt ran forward hoping to protect his friend, he held onto the man's other arm.</p><p> </p><p>"Please stop Uncle, your hurting him." He begged.</p><p> </p><p>"shut up!" His father said as he flung the poor boy away. He raised his hand to strike, Wilbur shut his eyes bracing for the impact, but it never came.</p><p> </p><p>Immediately the weight of his father disappeared and Wilbur opened his eyes to see his father curled up on the ground, groaning in pain.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you alright?" A man, who Wilbur figured was the one who saved him asked.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur wasted no time in trying to get up, he lost his balance but the man was quick to help steady the boy.</p><p> </p><p>"Easy now," The kind man said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"My friend...my father just threw him somewhere, I need to make sure he's alright." Wilbur said.</p><p> </p><p>"There's no need to worry," Another voice spoke up. Wilbur turned his head to see another man carrying Jschlatt in his arms.</p><p> </p><p>"A caught him before he hit the ground." The man said, as he placed Jschlatt on the ground, who ran towards Wilbur and wrapped him in a hug.</p><p> </p><p>"You both were very brave just now," The first man spoke up. "Would you like to come with us, we'll make sure to take care of both of you."</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur and Jschlatt looked at each other then nodded.</p><p> </p><p>The man smiled at them then said, "My name is Fruitberries and this is Illumina," he pointed at the man that helped Jschlatt.</p><p> </p><p>"From now on the Stellar academy shall be your home."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the two boys arrived at the academy they were welcomed with hugs and smiles. After showering up, they were given new clothes and then had dinner with the other kids. The two were roommates but when it came to training they were usually put in separate teams. Wilbur joined Techno and Phil, and they were latter referred to as the sleepy bois inc., meanwhile Jschlatt joined a group that called themselves the lunch club, and became close friends with two guys. One was named Carson and the other went by the nickname Slimecicle. Though they ran in different friend circles and weren’t as close as they used to be, they always took time to talk to each other in their room after dinner.</p><p> </p><p>One day they were sent on a rescue mission for training. A female student of the academy had been held hostage by a terrorist group and they were sent to offer support. They were to use tranquilizer darts instead of real bullets and were then assigned into squads. As usually they were on different teams, but they made sure to promise each other to come back home safe. Once on the site of the terrorist base, Jschlatt’s team were ordered to find the hostage while the others served as a distraction. They came across many guards and his team decided to split up, they asked Jschlatt to go ahead while they kept the guards occupied.</p><p> </p><p>When Jschlatt reached the cell that the hostage was in, he quickly picked the lock and untied the woman’s ropes. He felt a presence from right behind him and before he could react he was grabbed by a pair of strong arms. He kicked off the ground hard sending his attacker flying backwards, and making his attacker’s gun fall to the ground. His attacker’s head hit the wall hard knocking the man out. Jschlatt quickly got out of the man’s grip and turned his head to the hostage when he heard a gun cock. The woman was looking at him with angry eyes and had the gun aimed straight at him.</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt looked at her in confusion but moved quickly when he saw that she was about to pull the trigger. He tackled her to the ground just as the gun went off, the bullet hitting his previous attacker in the head, killing him. The woman angrily screamed when she realized what had happened and pushed Jschlatt to the ground, then straddled him. Jschlatt tried to fight her without hurting her but froze when he saw her pull out the gun and aim it once again at him.</p><p> </p><p>It happened so fast, his body moved before he could process what was happening. Somehow he managed to turn the gun the woman was holding back towards her and when it fired the bullet hit her right in the chest. He laid there for a few seconds to catch his breath, he had never killed anyone before. When he finally found the strength to stand he grabbed the gun from the woman’s grasp and looked over the two bodies. He heard a gun cock from behind him again, and quickly turned and pointed his gun at the person only to come face to face with a shocked Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>“Jschlatt… what have you done?” Wilbur said with confusion in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt stood their in shock and he seemed to forget that he still had a gun pointed at Wilbur, “No Wil it’s not-” he was cut off as a dart hit him in his neck. Before he hit the ground and his vision darkened he saw Wilbur look at him with tears in his eyes, and yelling at someone in the background.</p><p> </p><p>When Jschlatt finally regained conciseness he found himself in one of the academy’s cells. The academy had been dealing with quite a few traitors recently, and the position that Wilbur found him in definitely looked like he had gone rogue. If found guilty they would be expelled or sentence to death.</p><p> </p><p><em>They'll give me a chance to explain. Surely Wilbur would know that I wouldn't kill without reason</em>, Jschlatt thought.</p><p> </p><p>Days passed and the only person he saw was the man assigned to give him food, and Jschlatt was starting to lose hope.</p><p> </p><p><em>Why isn't Wilbur here yet, does he really think that I went rogue?</em> Jschlatt felt his heart ache as the thought crossed his mind.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not gonna just sit here and let them kill me for something that wasn't in my control,” Jschlatt declared as he looked for a way out. He managed to pick the lock and escaped without being noticed.</p><p> </p><p>Once out he found out that many others had been expelled from the academy under false accusations. Together they started an organization with the sole purpose of destroying the academy and anyone connected to it.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>“Schlatt…” Wilbur’s voice rang out bring Jschlatt back into reality.</p><p> </p><p>“Your safe,” Wilbur said in a shaky voice.</p><p> </p><p>“No thanks to you,” Jschlatt said with venom in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about?” Wilbur asked lowering his gun.</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt let out a sinister laugh, “don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten what happened,” he narrowed his gaze, “you didn’t stick up for me, I ended up in that cell because you didn’t trust me, and you left me there to rot.”</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt turned his gaze to the ceiling, “Out of all the people in the world, I thought you were the one person who knew I wouldn’t kill without reason, yet…” he returned his gaze back to Wilbur. “You let them take me away with no questions asked, I thought that we were friends Wilbur.”</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur just stood there staring at Jschlatt as he continued, “Well, I broke out by myself, found others who were wrongfully accused, and made a new family, and today will be the end of the academy.”</p><p> </p><p>“The academy is still your family Schlatt, no matter what you think.” Wilbur reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“A real family doesn’t abandon you just because you did something wrong. The academy merely made us into disposable soldiers, when we are no longer useful to them we are thrown out like trash.” Jshlatt said as he walked pass Wilbur. “Which is why I’ll erase every last trace of that pathetic place.”</p><p> </p><p>“And how do you exactly plan on doing that.” Wilbur said as he slowly reached for his earpiece, and set it so that everyone could listen in on their conversation. Luckily Jschlatt kept his back towards Wilbur so he couldn’t see what the man was up to.</p><p> </p><p>“The plan is already in motion, I had several men plant bombs in each of the branches across the world and at the academy. When the timer on that screen hits zero a signal will be sent out from the satellite dish on the top of this building, and every thing will go boom.”</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur turned to look at the screen, “Five minutes!” he yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“What don't we enjoy the last few moments of our lives together Wilbur?” Jschlatt said as poured out two glasses of drinks before he turned and smiled at him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What do you mean by last few moments?” Wilbur asked nervously as he took the glass the Jschlatt offered him.</p><p> </p><p>“I meant what I said, I told you that I would erase every last trace of the academy.” Jschlatt said with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur's grasp weakened and the glass shattered on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“What a waste of perfectly good alcohol,” Jschlatt stated calmly as he stared at the mess.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur stepped forward and gripped Jschlatt’s shoulders, who merely looked at him puzzled.</p><p> </p><p>“Schlatt you didn’t…” Wilbur started with his eyes wide open in fear.</p><p> </p><p>“Well I did Wilbur, this place will be blown up as well, along with the houses of those who have graduated, and also those who were expelled and are now living a peaceful life.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re betraying your comrades!” Wilbur yelled his grip tightening.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t lecture me about betrayal Wilbur, you are the last person I want to hear it from!” Schaltt yelled back as he slid Wilbur’s hands off of him.</p><p> </p><p>“And I am not betraying them, they all agreed to it, after all the destruction of the academy is all that we wanted.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you gone bloody insane!” Wilbur yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I have Wilbur, but you know what?...I don’t regret a thing.” Schaltt said with a sad smile.</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>The agents had heard everything that was going on between Jchaltt and Wilbur. George turned to Quackity who was tied up and gagged while Clay and Nick were busy tying up the rest of the squad. Techno and Phil had gone back to check on them bringing their captives along with.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I know we aren’t exactly the best of friends but I’m sure you really don’t want to die, so tell me right now how we can get to that satellite.” George said as he removed the gag.</p><p> </p><p>“Go to hell,” Quackity said in an angry tone. “The academy abandoned us, we finally got a taste of what it was like to belong to a family, only to have it ripped away because of something that we didn’t do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you think it’s weird that we didn’t use real guns tonight,” Techno pointed out. “It’s because no matter what you do the masters will always consider you as their children, and we still consider you as part of our family.”</p><p> </p><p>Quackity was silent as he tried to take in all of the information. “Yes, you guys were kicked out on unfair terms, but the masters never forgot about you. They’ve been trying there best to keep tabs on every single one of you. I personally saw how worried they were for your well-being when they lost track of you.” Techno added.</p><p> </p><p>George squatted down so that he was eye level to Quackity, “Please for the sake of the innocent children back at the academy, who have finally found a place where they can feel loved, please tell us how to stop this bomb.”</p><p> </p><p>Quackity lowered his head and closed his eyes, “Schlatt.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“The stairway leading to the top of the building is locked, there is no way to pick it or break it down, Schlatt has the key to it though.”</p><p> </p><p>George nodded to Phil and Techno who immediately ran towards Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Please make it in time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt wasn’t able to react when Wilbur’s fist made contact with his face. He landed on the floor and Wilbur straddled him, then he gripped onto his wrist pinning him down.</p><p> </p><p>“Get off me!” Jschlatt yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“You are such a bloody idiot!” Wilbur yelled back, Jschlatt was so taken back by the tone of his voice that he stopped struggling.</p><p> </p><p>“Betrayed you? Never stood up for you?” Wilbur looked Jschlatt directly in the eyes as tears rolled down his face. “What do you think I was doing when you were stuck in that cell? I spent every second that I could gathering up evidence and convincing the masters that you were innocent. I wasn’t the one who darted you Schlatt, another group found us in that position and thought you were going to shoot me.”</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt eyes widened, clearly shock at this new information. Wilbur continued, “ I found out that the girl was working with them, and the hostage situation was a trap. When I finally convinced the masters that you were innocent and to free you from your cell, you were already gone. People then suspected that you had gone rogue, but I knew that you were just scared of what they might do to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur tried his best to smile despite the fact that he was still crying then he sniffled. “I am your friend after all, I know how you think.”</p><p> </p><p>Jschlatt felt something break inside of him as he let his own tears surface. Wilbur got off of him and laid down next to him, they both stayed there looking as the clock reached one minute.</p><p> </p><p>“You know that there's no way to stop the bomb in time, right?” Jschlatt said between shaky breaths.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Wilbur responded with a smile. “I guess I’m just satisfied that you know the truth now.”</p><p> </p><p>“You couldn’t tell me earlier,” Jschlatt said in a almost happy manner.</p><p> </p><p>“You weren’t exactly easy to find.” Wilbur responded. Jschlatt let out a soft chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“So this is it huh? Dying with my best friend right besides me.” Jschlatt said.</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Wilbur said. The two smiled at each other then closed their eyes just as the timer hits zero.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wilbur wondered what was taking so long for the bomb to go off, he opened his eyes to look at the screen that read no signal. He reached over and shook Jschlatt, who opened his eyes to see what all the fuss was about.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that suppose to happen?” He asked as they both sat up.</p><p> </p><p>“No, that could only mean that the satellite dish is somehow broken.” came the answer.</p><p> </p><p>Just then Techno and Phil entered the room, they immediately moved to protect Wilbur but he signaled them that everything was okay. Quackity, Nick, George and Clay soon joined the group in the room. Quakity was quick to run over to Jschlatt and help him up.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?” he asked, Jshlatt shrugged his response.</p><p> </p><p>Just then the screen came back to life it was blurry at first but the camera was slowly focusing, “Hello? Can you hear me?” a voice crackled as the camera came into focus on a boy with brown hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Tubbo!?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I did it!” The brunnette exclaimed excitedly, there was a sound of something hitting metal in the background.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s pog Tubbo!” A voice spoke up from behind the boy, and another clang of metal hitting metal.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that Tommy?” Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>Tubbo nodded and turned the camera around to show Tommy hitting the satellite dish with a metal bat. The satellite had burn marks, and a lot of dents on it, and the blonde seemed determined to add more.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, how the hell did you know what was happening?” Wilbur asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I placed listening bugs into your pockets when I hugged you guys.” Tubbo explained.</p><p> </p><p>They all reached into their pockets and sure enough each one of them had a bug on them.</p><p> </p><p>Nick let out a laugh, “Your quite the sneaky one aren’t you.”</p><p> </p><p>The brunette giggled, “Master blade taught us well.” To this Techno puffed out his chest in pride, making everyone laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“And how did you boys get here?” Phil asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Niki drove us here after Karl woke up, he was really mad you know.” Tommy answered, he seemed to be satisfied with the damage he did, and was now more interested in giving his superiors the details.</p><p> </p><p>Nick nervously swallowed and felt sweat starting to form on his brow, Clay and George noticed this and gave the man a pat on the back. “Don’t worry I’m sure he won’t kill you.” George said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are they now?” Clay asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Last we saw them, they were assisting masters Fruitberries and Illumina,” Tubbo answered.</p><p> </p><p>Tommy looked over the edge of the building, “The four of them are now waiting by the main entrance,” he yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, we’ll meet you boys there.” Wilbur said, the boys cut the call and prepared to rappel down the building. Meanwhile Jschlatt and Quackity would round up their men before joining the group outside.</p><p> </p><p>Once outside Nick saw a very angry looking Karl, he felt his heart pound in his chest as they got closer.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, maybe he might kill you,” George joked.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not helping,” Nick said nervously as he walked towards Karl, and the latter stomped towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, before you kill me let me ex-” Nick was cut off as Karl's lips connected with his.</p><p> </p><p>He stood there in shock for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around Karl’s waist and kissing him back.</p><p> </p><p>“LET’S GOOO!” Clay and George yelled as everyone around them cheered, including the hackers in their earpieces.</p><p> </p><p>Tommy and Tubbo had finally made it down, but their eyes were quickly covered by Nikki and Wilbur.</p><p> </p><p>Once the excitement had died down, Jschlatt and Quackity walked up to Fruitberries and Illumina.</p><p> </p><p>“Master we’re-” Fruitberries cut them off with a hug and Illumina joined in.</p><p> </p><p>“You boys were always so troublesome.” Illumina said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“But don’t think that your out of trouble now...” Illumina warned, “you boys will be removing all those bombs that you placed, understood?”</p><p> </p><p>The group nodded. "Then we can talk about reassignments.” Fruitberries said.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Wilbur, do you think the UK branch could use a few extra hands?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“As a matter of fact yes.” Wilbur answered smiling at Jschlatt who returned it.</p><p> </p><p>“Then I’ll leave them in your care.” Fruitberries said with a nod.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur gave Jschlatt a hug and they introduced their people to each other.</p><p> </p><p>“All’s well that ends well,” Clay said as he hugged George from behind. George smiled and turned his head to kiss Clay on the cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s gonna be a mountain of paper work to do regarding the reaper.” George said already sounding defeated.</p><p> </p><p>Clay chuckled and kissed him lightly on the head, “Let’s just take one day at a time my love.”</p><p> </p><p>They smiled at each other then turned to look at Nick, who still had his arms around Karl as he kissed the latter on the forehead, causing Karl to smile. George was quick to snap a pick to tease them later.</p><p> </p><p>Everything was gonna be fine.</p><p> </p><p>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=</p><p> </p><p>A few weeks later...</p><p> </p><p>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur hugged George tight, and as they pulled away they could clearly see the tears that were threatening to fall.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m certainly gonna miss you,” Wilbur said. “You were such a big asset to the branch as well.”</p><p> </p><p>George chuckled, “Well you got plenty of people now to fill the void.” He gestured around the airport to Tommy, Tubbo, Jschaltt, Quackity, and the other new agents that would be officially joining the branch soon.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess you’re right, but expect me to come visit you guys from time to time.” Wilbur said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure Phil and Techno will be happy with that arrangement, make sure to bring the others with you too.” George said smiling.</p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded and moved on to Clay, Nick and Karl, “Make sure he stays out of trouble now,” he said as he shook their hands. The trio nodded their response, then he moved to Phil and Techno.</p><p> </p><p>“You two take care now,” he said as the trio hugged, Tommy and Tubbo joined in as well.</p><p> </p><p>The boarding calls soon were announced and everyone was saying their last bit of goodbyes. Fundy, Niki and Eret took a bit longer to say goodbye to Darryl and Zak, while Illumina and Fruitberries were giving Jschaltt and Quackity one final hug.</p><p> </p><p>The group soon boarded the plane, but their friends refused to move until the plane was up in the air.</p><p> </p><p>George let out a sigh and Clay wrapped him in a hug, “We can visit them whenever you want you know.” George nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re gonna have to wait a few months though, we have a ton of paper work to do.” Karl said in a playful manner as Nick came up and hugged him from behind.</p><p> </p><p>George groaned, “Great” he said before turning to face Clay, “but we have something to do first.” Clay gave him a knowing smile, while Karl and Nick looked at them puzzled.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. END</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George sleepily shuffled into the kitchen and opened up the once again nearly empty fridge. <em>How are you always empty? Pancakes and toast it is</em>, he thought as he grabbed the ingredients and headed over to the stove. He was waiting to flip the pancakes when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, on the person’s ring finger was a silver band that matched George’s.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning,” George said turning his head to kiss his husband on the cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Clay hummed his response and rested his head on George’s shoulder as George continued cooking.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, we’re going to be late.” George said giving Clay a slight nudge as he flipped the last pancake onto a plate. George set the plate down on the table then gave Clay a kiss.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s your turn to wake them up.” He said, Clay shuffled to the foot of the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>“Beckerson! Vanessa! Wake up or you’ll be late for school.” He yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re coming!” Came the reply.</p><p> </p><p>A dark brown haired boy with green eyes made it to the bottom of the stairs first, but he was tackled to the floor by a girl with similar features, only she had some blonde highlights in her hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Get off me Nessa!” The boy yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“Make me!” Vanessa said to her brother then stuck her tongue out.</p><p> </p><p>“Nessa get off your brother, you're already twelve years old young lady, start acting like one.” George said with a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes daddy,” Nessa replied as she got off her brother and they both headed to the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Beck slow down or you’ll choke.” Clay warned, but not soon enough as Beckerson started coughing. Vanessa quickly hit her brother’s back hard, then handed him some water.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks Nessy,” Beckerson said with a sheepish smile.</p><p> </p><p>“No problem,” Vanessa replied returning the smile.</p><p> </p><p>George and Clay smiled at each other, four years ago shortly after they got married they were sent on a mission together with Nick and Karl.</p><p> </p><p>There had been reports of rich man who mistreated his family and servants. It got so bad that his wife left him and took the children, but she felt guilty about leaving the servants behind to become victims of her ex-husband’s temper. Not wanting the issue to blow up, she asked the agency to check on them. The agents arrived at the house to find two bodies in the kitchen, the matching rings that they wore showed that they were husband and wife. Their master must have finally snapped and killed them. They made their way to the bedroom to find the master laying on his bed with a knife stuck in his chest.</p><p> </p><p>That definitely wasn’t the work of the couple downstairs. Clay then heard movement from the man’s closet. He opened the door to find two kids, and just by looking into their eyes he could tell that they were responsible for the man's death. They had similar looks to the couple downstairs so Clay kind of guess that those were their parents, they probably killed him to avenge their parent's murder.</p><p> </p><p>“Poor kids they must have seen it happen,” George said from behind him.</p><p> </p><p>Just then the boy rushed forward with a knife in his hands, Clay dodged and held onto the boy’s wrist. The girl tried to free her brother but was stopped by George.</p><p> </p><p>“Easy now we’re not gonna hurt you.” The kids immediately stopped struggling.</p><p> </p><p>“We understand how you feel right now, I’m so sorry about your parents, but don’t worry, we’ll take care of you from now on.”</p><p> </p><p>Normally they would be sent to the academy, but George and Clay wanted to try their hand out in parenting, the kids still went to the academy to study though.</p><p> </p><p>After their breakfast they headed to Clay’s car and he dropped the kids off at the academy, where Techno was waiting for them at the gate.</p><p> </p><p>“You kids have fun now,” George said.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay daddy,” the kids responded giving him a kiss on the cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Bye dad,” they said to Clay giving him a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll pick you after school.” Clay told them as they ran off inside the gates. They gave Techno a nod before they jumped into the car and drove off to the agency.</p><p> </p><p>“Wilbur said that he and the crew might be able to make it for Christmas this year,” George said.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s great, I’m sure Karl and Nick would be proud to introduce their new addition to the family.” Clay responded.</p><p> </p><p>Taking inspiration from Clay and George, Nick and Karl decided to also adopt a kid from the academy. They were to pick their little one this afternoon after work.</p><p> </p><p>“And just think, Bad and Skeppy are getting married next month,” Clay added.</p><p> </p><p>“Well it was only a matter of time,” George responded, then went silent as he stared lovingly at his husband.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Clay said with a laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Will you always love me?” George asked in a teasing manner.</p><p> </p><p>Clay let out a little wheeze then reached out to grab George’s hand and planted a kiss on it. “Of course I will,” he answered.</p><p> </p><p>“How can I be so sure?” George asked smiling at him. Clay parked his car in the branch’s parking lot before he leaned over and kissed George.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I loved you even when it was considered a crime.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>